By Emma, Age 8
My name is Emma. I am 8 years old and my daddy works for the Department of Homeland Security. Last week, I was able to go to work with him for National Take Your Sons and Daughters to Work Day. There were over 100 kids there for the fourth annual “Kids Day” (but this one was only my second). I had a lot of fun learning about what DHS does and how it keeps our country safe.
Kids Day started in the gym, where we met Deputy Secretary Mayorkas. He asked all of the kids there if they knew how to say “good morning” in different languages – we heard Spanish, Chinese, German, and even learned how to say it in sign language! Some of the kids got to introduce their parents to everyone and say what they did. There were parents who are in the Coast Guard and parents who protect us when we fly – lots of important jobs that keep our country safe.
I didn’t even mind that it was raining because we got to do so many cool things! Some of my favorites were saying the Pledge of Allegiance while we pretended to become citizens, looking at the President’s limousine (which has REALLY big tires), and climbing inside a big white FEMA truck that had televisions and radios all over the inside that they use when a disaster happens, like a tornado or a hurricane. But my favorite thing was meeting a police dog named K9 Coal. He and Officer Tyree showed us how Coal could sniff boxes and tell if there were explosives inside just by smelling. Then I was able to take Coal’s leash, and Officer Tyree showed me how to lead him around and what to do when Coal sat down to tell me that he found something. It was awesome!
I had a really fun time at Kids Day. I got to meet lots of other kids, like my new friends Claire and Ansley, whose parents work at DHS with my daddy. I also learned a lot about all of the different things that DHS does to keep all of us safe. I can’t wait to do it again next year!
