Page 43 - FOP_Magazine_ February2019

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Officer sees ‘dream job’ as his chance to give back
■ BY ERIKA WURST
Ever since Noe Zuniga was a little boy, he knew that one day, he would don a Chicago Police Department badge.
Growing up the son of a single moth- er living in the city, it was Zuniga’s hard work and persistence that led to his dream becoming a reality in 2016. After applying to multiple departments and working as a deputy, Zuniga earned a spot with the CPD – the only job he had ever wanted.
“I knew how tough it was to get my badge, and once I made it, I wanted to make sure to do something good with the position I had been given,” the 15th District officer said.
So, he jumped in and immediately found his first opportunity to give back.
Trying to do his part
Two years ago, Zuniga, a member of the Latino fraternity Sigma Lambda Beta, reached out to his close college friend and fraternity brother Mario Rue- da. Rueda is a seventh-grade teacher at Avondale Elementary School, which serves mostly low-income Latino stu- dents — who reminded Zuniga of him- self as a child.
“I saw how tough it was when my mom was the only one to provide for me and my siblings...especially around the holidays,” he said.
In an effort to do his part, the officer asked Rueda to provide him with the names of five students whose families were struggling during the holiday sea- son. Zuniga asked for those students to write him a letter describing themselves and their interests. In return, he would do his best to make their holiday wishes come true.
“I had just gotten on the job, and I re- ally couldn’t afford to do more than five kids,” Zuniga said.
So, for two years, that’s what he did. He adopted five or six of Rueda’s stu- dents and brought them gifts. But did his impact really have to stop there? He thought about the children in the class who weren’t chosen to get presents and
decided he needed to change that, too.
Enlisting the help of his brothers in blue
Zuniga enlisted the help of some of his Sigma Lambda Beta fraternity brothers — who double as his brothers in blue — and asked if they’d sponsor a student.
“I don’t like to ask people for favors, but I kept thinking about those kids. I had to get out of my comfort zone,” Zu- niga said of his initial hesitation to ask for help.
His call, however, paid off. Officers from across the city, including a detec- tive and sergeant, all chipped in to spon- sor five students each. By the time all was said and done, Rueda’s entire class had been spoken for.
“I was thrilled to see that all the kids were taken care of,” Zuniga said.
And, as excited as the kids were about receiving gifts, they were just as excited about meeting the officers who had tak- en the time to purchase those gifts and hand-deliver them to the school.
“We wanted them to know the gifts were coming from a police officer. We wanted to create a good image at such a
young age,” Zuniga said. “We want them to know that we truly love our commu- nity.”
Looking toward the future, Zuniga hopes to be able to continue to sponsor Rueda’s classroom and extend the ges- ture of gift-giving to even more students. His fraternity brothers have already helped him get started down that path.
“A lot of people on the job have fami- ly or relatives or close friends within the department. Me? I’m the first one in my family to be in law enforcement,” Zuni- ga said. “To have [Sigma Lambda Beta] to guide and mentor me throughout the whole process has been great. Now, we’re bringing younger guys in, and I am try- ing to step up and be the role model.”
CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ FEBRUARY 2019 43