Episode 19: Edwin A. Melo
Edwin A. Melo, Security Supervisor for Securitas
In this episode, Edgar sits down to talk to Edwin who has worked at HLS for 3 years. He is part of the Security Staff with a working shift between 8am-4pm. There are three shifts for security that works 24/7 on campus.
Edwin was born in New England but his family is originally from the Dominican Republic. He was raised by his grandparents, and he visited DR quite often as a child.
He recounts his experience in elementary school in Jamaica Plain, where it felt easy to fit in, given the number of kids from different ethnicities that looked like him. He talks about growing up in Dorchester and the changes he noticed in his neighborhood through the years. When he started going to Hyde Park High School, he had to take public transportation for the first time. This was challenging, and he ended up missing his stop and had to walk the first time he took it.
Completing high school was not an easy task but he was able to graduate. After graduating, he got a summer job at a department store before heading to college in North Adams, in western Massachusetts. The experience in college was tumultuous. He missed homes, some of his friends left, so he asked to a transfer to a Community College. Soon after that, Covid hit and so did studying.
He tried a couple of other jobs, one as a sales person which was not a good experience at all. Then he applied for a position as security in TD Garden and worked there part time for two years. It was through that experience that he was able to make a change to HLS. He has plans to take courses for the Trades area in the future.
The goal of this podcast is to introduce folks to HLS staff members from across the community. You may recognize the names of some guests, and if you don’t, that’s okay! We hope that you will tune in to learn more about your colleagues—what their role is, what makes them tick, and why they do the work that they do at HLS. If you’re interested in being a guest, please let us know—we would love to hear your story. Our stories bring us together; we come from different backgrounds and serve all different roles, but our shared community at HLS unites us. Let us hear your story!
Filed in: Tell Me Your Story