Damien Harris, class of 1989, finished high school and proceeded to college, but had a sort of wanderlust to travel. As a high school student, he had journeyed to D.C. and other locations for numerous family trips, but the major high school trip that he took was to Russia. This was in the 1980s, and Gorbachev, who wanted to open up Russia and westernize it more, was the leader. This further opened up the world of travel to Damien. During his college years, he volunteered to work at Close Up, a Washington, D.C.–based school program that he had participated in as a high school student. However, he still wasn’t sure what he wanted to do after graduation. This sounds familiar to many grads: What comes after high school? After college?
Luckily, Damien, as part of his financial package at college, had to work a certain number of hours on campus. He chose to do campus security work. At the time, it was just a job, or so he thought. He didn’t have any real interest in this position, but little did he know how it would play out later. After college, he volunteered for one year of service in AmeriCorps in Colorado. Here is where he met his wife, Cherish, a fellow volunteer. And the rest is history?
No, they returned to Martha’s Vineyard, and luckily, an Oak Bluffs Police position opened up. Due to his background in campus policing and his other credentials, Damien was hired.
During his many years on the force, he completed a master’s degree in criminal justice administration, because now college made sense to him. As he says, it took him some time to figure it out, but he is so glad that he did, and so are we, his parents. Damien is a known entity to many residents of Oak Bluffs, not only in police-related matters, but as a member of our community serving our town and our Island.
Thank you, Damien, for your continued service!
This series runs twice a month. Marge Harris was a teacher at MVRHS for 27 years. She lives in Oak Bluffs. You can contact her at margeharris@comcast.net.
