Faculty Spotlight: Ryan Burke, Security Instructor, FL DI License 3000132 and Licensed K Instructor 3500028
We want to introduce you to NITA’s lead security instructor, Ryan Burke.
Ryan Burke, a Chicago native, graduated from Northern Illinois University with a BA in Ancient and Religious History and earned an MA in Teaching from the University of the Cumberlands. He also completed Post Masters Credentialing in Applied Behavior Analysis at the University of Cincinnati. As a decorated Air Force Security Police veteran, Ryan served in Operation Desert Storm/Southern Watch and Operation Enduring Freedom in Kosovo. His military experience informs his disciplined, team-oriented approach
Ryan teaches our Live Online Florida Class D Training and our K Instructor-Led Class G license in Florida. Get to Know Ryan more:
What do you love about the security industry?
My father was a lifelong teacher, and there was nothing to do during the summer months. So, I would tag along at times while he went to work security at Arlington International Racecourse, a horse track in Arlington Heights, IL. It seemed like something fun to do. There was always something going on at the track, security-wise, to challenge your mind and body. Consequently, when I became of age, I decided to enter the security field at 18, and some thirty years later, here I am still involved with this profession and learning new and exciting things every day.
Through the profession of security, I have been able to work details for the space shuttle, Air Force One, the President of France, the Prince of Saudi Arabia, some of the Unites States most precision fighter aircraft, and many Hollywood A List celebrities,s on top of seeing the world while continue to achieve great things daily.
What do you love about the security industry?
No two days are the same. Something is always happening or in the process of happening, and through a state of heightened vigilance, it is a game to try to stop the bad incidents or bad guys from executing their plan. If you are not chasing down the bad guys or stopping incidents from happening, you are in a profession that continues to evolve, be it technologically, legally, or in ways to make the job easier and the guards safer and more efficient at what they do. This is certainly not a profession where you will ever get bored with what you do.
How Important is training for a security career?
Training is EVERYTHING. It is your foundation for success, your fundamentals for executing this job as proficiently and effectively as possible. When you get a chance to attend a training course, ATTEND IT.
When you see training that is going to benefit you, ask the company to invest in your costs and come back with a ton of information to share with everyone on your team. Training is not a one-time thing; training is an EVERYDAY THING.
Every shift, every pre-determined round you are required to make, you will see something or learn something if you are invested in your career. The greatest security officers in this profession are the ones who continue to be students of the game.
What advice would you give to security officers?
Like anything else in life, you get out of this field what you put into it. Reputation is everything, and particularly for you, younger officers, do not get into bad habits of lying, trying to work the system, or your schedule to benefit yourself. Understanding security is a machine, and you are a part of how that same machine runs properly or completely breaks down.
Do not be afraid to step into leadership roles and be assertive when there are contentious moments. No leader in the history of mankind has ever known what the outcome of their situation was when they had to make a decision., However, every single one of those same leaders took a reflective look at what they did and how they could have done better or made their decisions better.
It is about growth. In Florida, you start at your D License level, and the ceiling is only determined by your work ethic, attitude, and what you continue to do when you are done with your classes, which will determine how far you can go.
What do you love about teaching, and what can you offer our students?
What I love most about teaching is the questions the students produce. Teaching is about getting into a rhythm and learning forty new personalities every week, and how you can individually reach them and show them academic success they may otherwise have never experienced.
Typically, when you start a Monday class, the anxiety is so thick in the air that it makes it difficult to breathe. So, it is essential to let them know, hey, I was in this class at one point. I was going for my D license. The human element does well to ease minds. Really establishing your background for them but not immersing yourself in some bloviated diatribe of self-indulgence is the key.
As a teacher, I always remind myself, I may be working a post with these individuals, and I may be counting on these students to save me in a situation that I have trained them on. Typically, students will do what they know to do. As an instructor, you must get them over that anxiety hump and then completely rebuild each student in a manner that fits their personality to be great in the field of security. A tough challenge given that we only have them for 40 hours at a time.
One of the other wonderful things about being an instructor is that you are constantly knowledgeable of changes and trends regarding security. This is not a static field in any way and is ever evolving. A top-tier instructor stays on top of their craft and spends many, many hours away from the classroom, deeply involved in research to give pertinent up to date information to their students.
I pride myself on being able to offer my students relevant and critical information to be successful in Florida as security officers. There is no greater feeling in the world than after a hard week of training, seeing each student finally believe in themselves and what they can do.
