On average, most college graduates will hold ten jobs in their lifetimes.

But from a young age, Montalvo was captivated by police work. As a child growing up in California, Montalvo frequently watched the Highway Patrolman movies, which inspired him to later join the U.S. Marine Corps as a military policeman.

“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” Montalvo said.

Becoming a resource officer requires extensive training. Physical and physiological exams, as well as background checks, are all part of the long process to just begin instruction at the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission Academy.

Though most of us only know Montalvo as Liberty’s resource officer, Montalvo has many years of experience outside of the Liberty community.

“I’ve been on the SWAT team for nineteen years as an Entry Team Leader. I was on the narcotics and DUI task force, and was a field training officer, a D.A.R.E. officer and a master police officer,” Montalvo said, listing just a few of his many former occupations.

Despite Montalvo’s extensive history in police work, being a school resource officer is a job that requires constant training. Montalvo attends annual week-long conferences that are typically held in Kennewick and Wenatchee, Washington, and has also had the opportunity to go to a national conference in Florida. The workshops are put on for networking opportunities and have a variety of activities that assist school resource officers in working with young people, such as how to support troubled families or deal with an active shooter on campus.

Regardless of all of his training and work experiences, Liberty stands out to Montalvo as a unique community.