Officer Winter

Nestled by the side of the baseball diamond in an low, unassuming building, Campus Safety Officer Lauri Winter sits alert at the helm of the daily operation.“105 to 103,” she commands through the buzz of a walkie-talkie attached to her navy short-sleeved collared shirt, while effortlessly manipulating three computer monitors, two keyboards, four phones and one television screen with 16 rotating videos of campus.Surrounded by the constant murmuring of static voices, with two red Campus patches embroidered on either shoulder, a shiny brass “L.Winter” badge and big black boots, a headphone dangles from her ear.Winter became involved in security when she was 23, enrolling in the Police Academy at Conway, NH. After graduating, Winter became a police officer for Rochester, NH.While going between various part-time jobs, including a stint at the Exeter hospital, a job with Campus Security just “fell into her lap.”Winter’s experience as police officer enables her to appreciate the stark contrast between the positive Exeter environment and public security in the outside world.“I get to see the best of people here instead of always interacting with mean bad people doing bad things,” Winter said.Starting as a part time officer after answering an ad in a local paper, Winter has worked at the Academy for three and a half years. From the moment she stepped on campus, she was struck by Exeter’s sincerity and friendliness.“In a very short period of time I realized what an amazing community of people this place is and I couldn’t wait for a full time position to become available so I could apply for it,” she said. “I find it amazing the way everyone interacts with each other. Exeter really is its own wonderful very close knit community it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before in a work environment.”“It is so rare to have a job that you truly enjoy going to everyday,” she added. “ I love this job. My family would tell you I live here.”Along with fellow campus safety officers, Winter supported the community in a host of different areas – from supplying key services, and transporting Exonians around campus, to surveying and locking academic buildings at night, to even accompanying someone across the quad on a really dark night.“We make sure that experiences aren’t only intellectually and socially stimulating but to make sure that the’re safe while they’re here, in all aspects,” she said.Winter recollected one of her funnier late night calls from the boys in Webster Hall, who decided they wanted pizza at two o’clock in the morning. The students put the pizza in the oven, box and all, before promptly falling asleep.The box caught fire, and as the sirens went off and woke up the dorm, Officer Winter recalled responding to the alarm and getting a jolt of energy as she saw the late-night smoke coming from the basement. “When you go into something like that and you see that there’s smoke, you immediately get an adrenaline rush, so when we found out what it was, it was quite amusing.”Fortunately, nobody was hurt in the incident, but there were a few irate Webster boys who had to forced to stay in Wentworth as the fire was sorted out. “My best advice,” Winter quipped, “is to read the instructions on the packet of macaroni and microwave popcorn.”It’s not only the pizza fires that lighten Officer Winter’s days on campus. She mentioned how she almost never has a bad day, because, whenever she feels down, there’s always somebody who will pick her back up again.Be it conservations with athletes she’s transporting to the trainers or yet another Cilley Hall boy imploring her to play a game of C-Ball, Officer Winter credits her daily interactions with students as the reason for the smile on her face each morning.“I love walking around the quad and just talking to people and seeing how their days are going and seeing if they need anything if there is anything that I can do for them. My role here is really to serve the community in whatever capacity that entails,” she said“I find the students here fascinating, intelligent and engaging. It is a wonderful thing to see so many people interested in so many things; it just warms my heart to see kids who are worldly, intelligent and conscientious of the world around them,” Winter added added.Evidence of her affable nature, caring personality and readiness to talk is apparent in the strong relationships students and faculty have formed with Officer Winter during her time at the Academy. Upper Morgan Burrell remembered a time when Officer Winter helped him retrieve his backpack from the locked Elm Street Dining Hall.“Officer Winter was incredibly sweet and understanding. I couldn’t believe how caring she was for my situation,” he said."She definitely breaks the barrier when it comes to coolness, and she's been a blast to know for the past two years,” Senior Matthew Daiter, said. “She's really the only person I'd think of who would laugh at receiving a phone call for pulling over a boarder for driving a motorbike. She is, quite frankly, an awesome human being."Winter identified her greatest strength as listening, often taking time out of her busy day to connect with Exonians.“Although I enjoy engaging with people, the biggest thing that I do for them is I listen. I listen to all of the good stuff and some of the bad stuff too. I have a big ear.”“Her best quality is she is someone who is a problem-solver; she really likes and understands kids," Russian instructor Inna Sysevich, said.She appreciates that her colleagues don’t treat her any differently than they treat each other, even though Winter is the only female Campus Safety officer.“I work with really wonderful guys. They are just like my second family, it’s like having a bunch of brothers,” she said.Winter’s professional attitude is sometimes overwhelmed by her inner maternal instinct, however. She will become particularly concerned if, during her late night shift, somebody feels sick.“If you’re feeling so unwell that you have to go the health center at one in the morning, I’m worried about you. I take on a different role from other officers because I feel parental about the students: my concern runs deep for them. The mom in me makes me worry about the kids and everyone on campus. I want to make sure that everyone is doing okay,” she said.“After I got my concussion, Officer Winter was really friendly as she took me to the Health Center,” senior Tyler Chapman said. “She let me stop at the dorm and grab some stuff before we went over. The work that she does makes our lives so much easier here at the Academy, and I am thankful that she is here, and that I can call her my friend.”Like an extended member of the Exeter family, Winter has been present for the growth of numerous students throughout the years.“I really enjoy watching the amazing change of kids who come their prep year, grow, and graduate. I know that they leave here from graduation knowing that I’m very proud of them, very happy for them and very excited for their future.”That in just over three years Winter has already made an enormous impact on campus is a testament to her diligence and friendliness.“I love this woman, she is the best person in the world,” Russian instructor Inna Sysevich, said.Upper Azniv Nalbandian added, "every time I see her she makes my day."