She’s the one who is there every day no matter the weather. You might say “good morning” when you see her or you may just walk by. Most just see a traffic lady and don’t even know her name. Well. now you will. Her name is Renee Dettmer and directing traffic is not her only responsibility.

Along with directing traffic, she is also responsible for watching the parking lot and the doors. Every day she walks the lot checking for flat tires and making sure no one left their car running.

“If I see anything like a flat tire, I like to call it in so the student knows ahead of time before they walk out and go ‘oh my god’,” Dettmer said. “Anything I can do to make it easier on the students.”

This is Dettmer’s third school year at Liberty. She started out as a bus driver for the district in 2013. From there she went into custodial work and then finally into the school’s security department. To work in the security department she has to be licensed by St. Charles.

“My favorite thing about Liberty is the energy, it is unbelievable. The principals are fantastic and I like seeing the students and getting to know them,” Dettmer said.

Dettmer has been in security for more than 30 years. When she was in college trying to figure out what she wanted to do, she started taking criminal justice classes. She ended up getting a degree and that got her hooked on the field. She is a 12 month employee at Liberty and loves her job.

“What’s not to like? Being off weekends is great. I’ve worked in security where I worked holidays and weekends,” Dettmer said. “This is quite the job.”

She arrives at Liberty at around 6:30 every morning to start directing traffic. Throughout the day she watches the parking lot and doors into the school. To finish off her day at 2:15 she goes and directs the traffic out.

“I applaud her for standing out there everyday in the cold and heat,” junior Kaela Kirk said.

In her free time she enjoys traveling. She hasn’t been anywhere interesting lately, but one of her favorite times was when she went to Germany when she was in high school as a foreign exchange student for a month. Now she has family in Florida and Texas that she likes to go and see.

There is so much work that goes into running a school. So many people behind the scenes that keeps everything going smoothly. Ms. Dettmer is one of those people and we should make sure to show our appreciation for everything that she does.