When you ask Joe White about his dream job, he says he's doing it and that is likely to be the attitude that shines through to his peers and supervisors. White is a 26 year-old Deputy Sheriff for the Ionia County, Michigan, Sheriff's Office who was recently honored by his co-workers with the Deputy of the Year Award.

The honor is typically bestowed on an employee with a bit more seniority than White, who has only officially been on the force fulltime for a year.

"I've learned something from the guys who trained me. One of my goals was to someday achieve [the award]. You are chosen by your peers [so] it gives you a sense of satisfaction that you are cut out to do this stuff," said White.

He recently spoke to The Corrections Connection about his hopes for the future and what he thinks it takes to be successful in the sheriff's office.

Q: Why did you decide to work in the Ionia County Sheriff's Office?

White: I have an uncle that retired out of law enforcement and a couple of cousins who work in law enforcement. I've wanted to be a road officer from the get-go. I interned with the sheriff's office when I was in college. Something that drew me to law enforcement is you never know what is going to happen next. You interact with different people and different situations. Every other job that I had prior to this was the same every day.

Q: What is most rewarding part of your job?

White: When you get to work with smaller communities and kids when you can interact with children and adults and try to get certain programs going. We try to be a big brother to some of these kids. Were able to get the village of Saranac to work on a project. They raised some money and were able to improve and approve a skate park [for the kids]. We got the ball rolling. There were some complaints about the kids riding their skateboards on the sidewalk and they needed something to do. [So] we got the idea going. The village liked the idea and it happened from there. The kids did a lot of footwork; they did the research and made the right contacts. We went over and put it all together to save money. I did that my day off.

There are so many different areas of the job - it's never the same thing twice. There are the repeats, [but] you could be chasing a bad guy one day and next reading to kids in a school the next.

Q: You recently took on a job related to homeland security?

White: I have been coordinating the homeland security training fro the department. It was a job that was posted - a special detail. I put in for it and no one else did. That's how I got started.

Q: What does it take to rise through the ranks?

White: Integrity is number one. It takes someone who is devoted to put his or her time in. If the job calls for you to swap shifts or take special details to better the department or the community it takes a person who is willing to make that sacrifice. I think we're all like that in this department; we're willing to go the extra mile. There are a lot of guys who come in early and leave late here.

Q: What does the future hold for you?

White: I am quite a ways from there. If I have my 25 or 30 years in and I still haven't gotten enough, maybe I'd like to have a chance to apply to be a chief or run for sheriff. Right now I look forward to coming in to do what I do - working the road and go up through the ranks.

The thing I look towards is furthering my education. I have always looked up to our instructors in the academy and maybe I would like to bring experiences to new hires or new recruits.

Q: What does it mean to you to receive this award? Why do you think you were honored?

White: Receiving it was a big shock I was surprised and really honored. It was a pretty big deal to me. I think [I received it] probably just for paying my dues. We all do good jobs down there and doing some of the details that aren't glorified there is a lot of paperwork. It might make me a little odd, but I enjoy it. I put my all into everything I do. I don't go into a situation thinking it might be a bad situation or detail.
It's a great job. And, if you are tired of one thing and want to go into something else, it's a career that offers that.