Despite spending over 12 years in public safety, Officer Chris Crady began a new era as the Green Hope school resource officer at the end of the 2022-23 school year. From being a ranch hand to serving as a firefighter, Crady held a vast array of jobs with varying responsibilities leading up to his current position.

Crady grew up in Colorado and New Mexico with a family that worked on various cattle ranches. He was active, choosing to enjoy physical activities in his free time. “[I] did a little bit of rodeo back in the day…I also love hunting, hunting deer and hunting elk. I played sports in high school, I wrestled and played football and then for the last little bit of high school I played track,” he said.

Immediately after high school, Crady attended Central Arizona College for a brief period of time where he was also on the rodeo team. Crady elaborated on his post-college experience. He said, “[I] went to work on some ranches down in Arizona after I left school and did that for a while and then ended up rotating for a while between Colorado and Arizona just doing the ranching.”

Eventually, Crady moved to Florida looking for change from his ranching lifestyle. In Florida, he attended Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) school and got his certification. He began working for a fire department in Florida and then transitioned to Kentucky for a different fire department. “[In Kentucky,] I worked as a firefighter EMT for about a year and then I got my paramedic license so I worked as a firefighter paramedic. I still maintain my paramedic license now. Eventually I got burned out doing that and transitioned to law enforcement,” Crady said.

After working as a police officer for five years in Kentucky, Crady moved to North Carolina and joined the Cary Police Department in 2016. Prior to his job at Green Hope, Crady worked as a patrol officer, stopping cars and responding to 911 calls and burglar alarms.

“I had no clue what school they would assign me to and that’s at the discretion of our supervisors. But I feel like I got extremely lucky right here at Green Hope,” Crady added. “I turned down a promotion about two weeks after being in this position… I would’ve had to have left and go back to patrol.”

One of Crady’s main responsibilities is building relationships with staff and students, which he upholds by getting involved in the community. “I’m usually out in the commons area or carpool greeting people as they come, talking to kids, just being present,” he said. “Then throughout the day it’s things like giving class presentations at the request of teachers.”

Crady also attends Green Hope events outside of his responsibilities. “I’ve traveled, you know, on my [own] time to go to the volleyball games, the football games and just being there and being seen by students. And I think that goes a long way as far as them seeing me, being cool with me, and as far as building those relationships and if they ever do need to come to me then it’s easy and it’s comfortable to just have casual conversation,” he said.

Crady looks forward to learning about Green Hope students and staff for the remainder of the school year.