LAKIN — Variety often makes a job exciting.

And it is the variety that has led Cpl. Angela Lathey to enjoy her job as a correction officer.

Lathey, who has worked at the Lakin Correctional Center for six years, described her job’s diversity as being very interesting.

“(The job) changes from day to day as far as interaction in the building,” she said.

She described working with the Rover Rehab Program as another interesting aspect of her job.

“(The Rover Rehab Program) is a program where inmates train dogs to be put in homes with autistic children and seizure children,” Lathey said. “The inmates feel like they are giving back to the people what they have taken. (The program) helps them and is helping the community.”

She added that she enjoys working with the dogs and inmates. In fact, Lathey described interaction with people as her favorite part of the job.

“You meet all kinds (of people). (The job) is 100 percent interaction. You have to interact from the time you come in the door to the time you leave, whether it is with the staff or inmates all day,” she said.

In addition, Lathey said she enjoyed working with her staff on a daily basis and described them as her rock of support. In fact, she attributed interactions with her co-workers as forming some of her fondest memories.

“The team part of the staff is (my fondest memory) because you are dependent on your staff members day by day to get through the day,” she said.

As for the job itself, Lathey said she enjoyed everything it encompasses and that she did not find any part particularly difficult. She described the variety and change as maintaining her enjoyment of working as a correction officer.

“(The job) is constantly changing ... when dealing with so many people. It is constant change,” she said. “It is far from boring. You have to be able to adapt to any situation with this job.”

A typical day for Lathey begins at 7 a.m. and includes several different tasks throughout the day.

“You do education every morning, get the inmates out for meals, make sure the inmates are accounted for and make sure they made it to programs,” Lathey said, adding that she also works in the recreation yard and deals with problems inmates have.

“It is a 12-hour day. I don’t have a lot of down time. I couldn’t do the 12 hours without the busy — that’s why I throw myself in the dog units.”

In addition, as a corporal Lathey is responsible for supervising two other correction officers.

Although she described her job as diverse and exciting, Lathey said her job as a corporal correction officer is not like what is shown on television shows such as CSI or court television.

“It is not here — what you see on court TV. You always have to be aware, but you don’t have trouble like what you see (on TV),” she said, adding that most of the inmates want to improve themselves.

“A lot of (inmates) do try to better themselves with education to benefit them to go back to society. A lot of people have the misconception that we shouldn’t give (the inmates) their GED — if we don’t give them resources, how will they ever go back and survive to be productive citizens?” Lathey pointed out. “You don’t want them to have to come back.”

According to Lathey, working as a correction officer is very rewarding and offers plenty of room for advancement, which is why she intends to continue working at the correctional center for quite some time.

She encouraged others to enjoy their jobs by staying positive and free of judgment, a piece of advice Lathey has put toward her own life as she continues to maintain a positive attitude on the job.

“We are not here to judge people. We are here to help them with this time in their life. My job is to get (inmates) to programs to succeed,” she said.

(If you know someone who could be a potential candidate for an upcoming “Day in the Life” feature, e-mail his or her name and contact information to mdrnews@mydailyregister.com or call 304-675-1333).