Also in this issue: - The Spectrum Magazine
Also in this issue: - The Spectrum Magazine
Also in this issue: - The Spectrum Magazine
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From Basketballs to Badges:Riva<br />
R edwood City police Officers Diana Villegas<br />
(left) and Jessica Gray (right) are the best of<br />
friends — but they didn’t start out that way. It’s<br />
the k<strong>in</strong>d of story that, look<strong>in</strong>g back, they can<br />
laugh about. But at that time, it would have been<br />
hard to imag<strong>in</strong>e them end<strong>in</strong>g up as close as they<br />
are now.<br />
Years ago, when both women were play<strong>in</strong>g high<br />
school basketball, they met on the court as opponents,<br />
little love lost between them. Villegas went<br />
“You need to pick on someone your<br />
own size.”<br />
to Burl<strong>in</strong>game High School and Gray to Woodside.<br />
Villegas was <strong>in</strong> the class of ’95, a year ahead<br />
of Gray. After one of their games, Gray entered a<br />
verbal confrontation with one of Villegas’ friends.<br />
“I said, ‘You need to pick on someone your own<br />
size,’” Villegas recalled with a smile. “And [Gray]<br />
said, ‘<strong>The</strong>n I’ll pick on you!’” she laughed.<br />
At 6 feet tall, Villegas still comes <strong>in</strong> just shy<br />
of Gray’s 6 feet 1 <strong>in</strong>ch, but they were very much<br />
“the same size” — or close to it. In <strong>this</strong> confrontation,<br />
people had to <strong>in</strong>tercede to break up the pair,<br />
and they ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong>ed a dist<strong>in</strong>ct dislike for each<br />
other for some time thereafter — hardly an auspicious<br />
beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g to what would turn out to be a<br />
great friendship!<br />
For Villegas, basketball was a means to an end.<br />
She attended college on a basketball scholarship,<br />
her end goal always be<strong>in</strong>g the police force. “We’re<br />
very different,” Villegas said. “I always knew I<br />
wanted to be a police officer. My cous<strong>in</strong>, Steve<br />
Penny, was a police officer here for 25 years, and I<br />
wanted to follow his footsteps. Six months after I<br />
graduated from college, I was a police officer.”<br />
Gray, however, cont<strong>in</strong>ued <strong>in</strong> basketball much<br />
longer, travel<strong>in</strong>g the world to play on professional<br />
teams. It wasn’t until return<strong>in</strong>g from play<strong>in</strong>g<br />
overseas that she encountered Villegas aga<strong>in</strong><br />
— and followed her former rival onto the police<br />
force. Villegas took Gray under her w<strong>in</strong>g dur<strong>in</strong>g<br />
her tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g, and the seeds of friendship were<br />
planted.<br />
Villegas is the high school resource officer at<br />
Sequoia. <strong>The</strong> resource officer is on scene to handle<br />
any problems at the school. If a fight breaks<br />
out on campus, Villegas is already there. She also<br />
works with <strong>in</strong>tervention programs and youth education<br />
programs. “Ever s<strong>in</strong>ce I was hired, that’s<br />
what I wanted to do,” she said. Before she could<br />
take on that post, though, she had to earn valuable<br />
field experience. “I started so young,” Villegas<br />
said. “Back <strong>in</strong> the day, they hired officers 21, 22.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y don’t do that anymore.”<br />
When I spoke with Villegas, her enthusiasm for<br />
the job was clearly evident, not only through her<br />
voice but also on her face and <strong>in</strong> her eyes. It’s refresh<strong>in</strong>g<br />
to see someone with such a joie de vivre<br />
for what she does, who is dedicated and truly happy<br />
where she is. “All the goals I’ve ever wanted<br />
<strong>in</strong> my life — I wanted to be a cop, I wanted to be<br />
a resource officer, I wanted a basketball scholarship<br />
— for me, life is perfect,” she said. It’s easy<br />
to see why she’s excelled. Not only does she love<br />
what she does, she has a determ<strong>in</strong>ation to do the<br />
job right. She’s also served as a tactics <strong>in</strong>structor<br />
and cont<strong>in</strong>ues to coach youth basketball. “I coach<br />
little guys,” she said, “usually sixth to seventh<br />
grade. For some reason, they really pick th<strong>in</strong>gs up<br />
at that age.”<br />
While Villegas was on a fast-track, high-focus<br />
career path, Gray traveled more, see<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
world and explor<strong>in</strong>g after college. It’s a contrast<br />
between the two women, one of many, that<br />
highlights the differences between them. Villegas