After last year’s unfortunate departure of the old security guard, Mr. V, the school has now found a replacement: Mr. Christian Matthewson or what he may soon be referred to as Mr Matt.

Mr Matt has been serving in the military for the past nine years, and as his career ended, he was looking for something new. He saw the FHC job opening and decided to apply. It was clearly obvious that he had experience in the area of security, so it was guaranteed that he would be great for the job. But why did he want a job at a high school? Why would he want to go from a soldier in the Army to a school security guard? He answered by simply saying “I wanted a job and I saw this one. I am also looking to go to college in the future, and this seemed like something that would make that possible.”

Mr Matt graduated from Belding High School. Although they were four years apart, Belding High School graduate and new FHC English teacher Ms. Beckett, knew of Mr. Matt. Ms. Beckett spoke regarding Mr. Matt saying, “For the little time we have spoken since he was hired, we’ve reminisced about small town life. I didn’t really know him very well in high school, so talking to him was pretty interesting.”

A security guard is something many parents and students alike think we need. “He seems like a great guy,” student Lacey Smith said. “He’s obviously trained, and he’s respectful ,so I can’t wait to see how he impacts the school.” It sounds like students are glad to have him, but what does he actually do?

Mr. Matt’s main job description is to enforce the rules. Yes students of FHC, that includes the no phones policy. His other responsibilities include making sure people don’t leave at lunch, giving out parking tickets, and stopping people from leaving early. As he puts it, “I don’t want to be enemies with students, but at the end of the day, it is my job to enforce the rules.”

Many students have noticed the school hasn’t been giving out parking tickets so far this year, but starting on October 21, brightly colored pieces of paper made their debut. However, if you did get a parking ticket, for next week only, if you buy a parking pass, the ticket will be waived. This is good news for many students as many do not have a pass yet.

Although he enforces the rules, Mr. Matt wants to build a good relationship with the student body. Having kids of his own, he knows how important it is to have a strong role model in kids’ lives. He wants to be that role model for all students here at FHC.

Arriving a bit late to the new school year, he is already behind in forming those positive relationships, so if you see Mr. Matt, it’s highly suggested to go up, introduce yourself, and get to know him; he’s a great guy and means well.