When it comes down to the most positive and impactful people at Solon High School (SHS), many students have come to a consensus that it is none other than security guard Jerry Prusha. When attending SHS, students can see him directing traffic in and out of the building, as well as making his daily rounds in the lunchroom going from table to table to have conversations with students.

Being a security guard was not his first job — Prusha first worked as a police officer in Maple Heights. He was a patrol officer for around six years, and then he became a detective for 13 years.

Prusha has since spent the last few years of his life doing patrol work as a security guard. He expressed how the reason he became a security guard was because he felt it was a good fit for him based on his life experiences.

“Having been a juvenile detective for half of my career,” Prusha said. “I figured that I had already been in a position where my day-to-day was dealing with young people. It’s definitely a step up from being with some of the worst-of-the-worst to dealing with the best-of-the-best.”

One of the main reasons he retired from law enforcement to become a security guard was because he claimed he was dealing with large amounts of stress. Working as a security guard at SHS has given him a lot of happiness to spread positivity throughout the building.

“When you cut as large of a chunk of stress out of your life as I did when I retired from law enforcement, it was an immediate relief anyway,” Prusha said. “But to be in a position where I’m working around incredible coworkers and the most unbelievable student body on the planet, as far as I’m concerned, it’s hard not to be happy.”

As well as spreading positivity, Prusha also has a lot of responsibilities around the building and making sure everyone is safe.

“My day starts off with greeting students as they arrive in the parking lot over at the pool [lobby] to make sure everyone stays safe,” Prusha said. “After that, perimeter security. [I have to] make sure everything is locked up, and nobody is able to get access into the building. Then spreading a little joy [by] having an opportunity to speak with students in the hallways.”

Sophomore Masha Chernychka expressed how she likes Jerry because of how friendly and helpful he is around the building.

“He always has good energy and is always happy,” Chernychka said. “He’s easily approachable and always comes up to everybody [and] asks how their day is. And you could always [go] to him for help.”

Senior Connor Friedman stated how he appreciates Jerry because of how uplifting and fun he is.

“He always has a great message to say throughout the day,” Friedman said. “He kinda drills it into everyone’s heads, and I can’t really see anybody who doesn’t like him. He’s just overall a humble guy.”

Jonathan Bell-Zurowski, who is a junior at SHS, also has positive things to say about Prusha.

“I think Jerry is very sweet,” Bell-Zurowski said. “He always comes to me during lunch to ask me how I’m doing. He makes sure I’m having a good day, and makes sure everyone is safe. I love him so much because he’s just the sweetest security guard here.”

Patrick Burns, who is also another security guard at SHS, has known Prusha for a long time. Prusha graduated high school with Burns’ younger brother, and has become one of Burns’ good friends. He expressed how Prusha is close with his family, including his mom and sister.

Burns was taking classes at Remington College in Maple Heights as Prusha was working for the Maple Heights police department doing security at the college. They both shared a common interest in playing guitar.

“When I’d get a break from class, I’d walk out and just talk to him for a while,” Burns said. “[Jerry] actually had his guitar there at the school, so when it was slow he would sit there and play. We talked about how we should get together and jam sometime. Unfortunately, that never really came to fruition.”

Even though they did not get to play guitar together back then, their paths crossed again at SHS when they both started working as security guards. He explained how Prusha started working security just around two years ago, and this year they both collectively formed the first ever Solon High School Guitar Club. Burns explained how the experience was kind of scary for him because the club gained a lot of popularity quicker than they could keep up with it.

“In that collaboration we have actually been able to finally sit down and jam a little bit,” Burns said. “The rest is soon to be history. We have a good time together [and] he’s a good person to work with. He brings a wealth of knowledge to the whole security team, and a whole other perspective being an ex-police officer and detective.”

All in all, SHS students and staff seem to come to a consensus about how friendly and positive the SHS security guard truly is. Prusha carries positivity and joy in his heart and he makes sure everyone can experience it.

“Positivity is always a choice,” Prusha said. “Even if it’s a negative day, you can always find something good about it. Setting it in your mind that you’re going to have a good day can be the difference between having that good day or not. Always ask for help if you need it.”