Students and faculty at Coronado High School (CHS) have seen campus security guard Forrest Perkins and his bicycle cruise around campus for over twenty years now. Unfortunately, his days of keeping a watchful eye on the school are coming to an end as he plans on retiring at the end of this term.
Before Perkins joined the Islander community, he worked for the City of San Diego Parks and Recreation commission where he coached and supervised kids participating in seasonal sports. After eight years working for Naval Air Station North Island, he started working at CHS in the late 1990s.
“Most of the kids are really great. I like the kids and I like to see them all grow up to become good adults, and I’ve seen a lot of that in my twenty years being here,” says Perkins.
As his retirement swiftly approaches, Forrest looks forward to relaxing, fishing, staying active, and waking up when he wants to. Perkins adds, “I’m going to take it day-by-day.”
Students will certainly feel Forrest’s absence, especially upperclassmen that have spent their high school career with Forrest biking around campus. Senior Sage Frost says, “I’m going to miss Forrest welcoming me into school, it gives me such a positive start to my day.”
Junior Charlotte Kuite says, “I think people will miss Forrest because he’s funny and always is there to lighten up your day no matter if you’re having a good or bad day. He’s impacted the Islander community because he’s kept our campus clean and he cares about our school and the people in it.”
Senior Emily Novotny says, “I will miss his jokes and our daily conversations. I really love that he says ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’ to me everyday. The impact he has on CHS is his effort to talk to everyone and be very positive. I hope whoever takes over his position is as great as Forrest.”
“I’ll miss the kids and the teachers. I hope the kids do good and I hope they won’t be acting up when I’m gone. I helped raise these kids and I’m proud of that. I’m proud to see when they do good in life,” says Perkins.
The Islander community will surely miss seeing Perkins’ familiar face keeping the campus safe, but it’s certain that a long and happy retirement is well-deserved.
