“Hey, kiddo!”
For many Harker students, that warm phrase brings to mind one person: security officer Josh Conti. Whether it’s the last thing they hear before sprinting to first period or a friendly farewell in the afternoons, Conti’s dedication to students’ safety remains a constant.
Conti began his journey as a security officer while studying history at California State University, East Bay. Between classes, he worked in parking enforcement, directing cars and controlling traffic on campus.
“Going from working with people my age to working with students that are below my age, there are precautions that I have to take, and it’s a different kind of atmosphere,” Conti said. “We keep in mind that you guys aren’t adults, so there’s a different kind of aspect when talking to you, when approaching you guys and understanding different kinds of situations.”
Although Conti earned a double bachelor’s degree and initially wanted to teach history, he found his passion in a security-related job at Home Depot before joining Harker in 2020.
“The spontaneousness of the job is the best part,” Conti said. “There’s always something new or something different or you meet someone new. There are days where you’re working almost 12-hour shifts and you’re exhausted by the end, but you also feel satisfied.”
Conti plays a key role on the security team, which works around the clock to direct traffic, monitor campus buildings and work with the groundskeeping department to uphold student safety, keeping daily operations running smoothly behind the scenes.
To unwind in the evening, Conti might pick up a deck of cards to play a round of Poker or 21 with his friends, or sit down to play tactical or survival-based video games. He finds that gameplay helps him relax by immersing him in a new world while also further sharpening his critical thinking skills.
“I like outwitting my opponent or thinking of different ways to come up with a solution to a problem,” Conti said. “You have to take your time and your approach to how you deal with things, kind of helps with letting off steam after a long day, where you sit back and see how things go.”
When Conti first began gaming, he gravitated towards faster-paced games, relying on quick reflexes rather than careful planning. After his years working as a security officer, his gameplay perspective has changed from reactive to strategic, as he slowly considers options to approach challenges with more foresight.
“In my line of work, you have to have patience and perseverance, and taking your time is critical to understanding situations that you are in,” Conti said. “Now I prefer the games that are thinking-based, because they’re not as intense. I’m taking more time to be slower, with more of a gradual, more patient approach.”
The deliberate thinking and problem-solving skills Conti has honed through strategic gameplay carry over into his approach to issues in traffic and safety as well.
While working at the Harker Middle School, Conti noticed a bottleneck in pickup-zone traffic that the security team had trouble solving due to a short, single lane loading-zone. Despite concerns about the feasibility of his new plan, he successfully diverted half of the cars onto the outdoor basketball courts, creating a more efficient pickup route that has been used ever since.
“It was one of those moments where we proved wrong the people who told us it wasn’t going to work,” Conti said. “We had to fight to get change because it was an untested idea, and not everyone likes trying something new. As the old term goes, ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix,’ and I’m like ‘well if it’s broke, let’s try to fix it.’”
Through maintaining safety and guiding traffic at Harker, as well as maneuvering through challenging problems in video games, Conti has learned to look at scenarios from all angles and stay present.
“I feel happier when I’m doing things at a slower pace,” Conti said. “Just working here, there’s always a senior class that’s graduating and a freshman class that’s coming in. All the time I see you students grow up pretty fast going from freshman to sophomores to juniors to seniors, so that perspective here at Harker is quite real.”