By: Alexandra Mork ’20
Michael Ayala joined the school community as a security guard this year. Before coming to the middle school, Ayala worked at the Hollywood Bid Patrol monitoring Hollywood for crimes in order to keep businesses safe.
“[My colleagues and I are] here for protection of students, faculty, and the property of the school. We also run the parking here at the school,” Ayala said.
Ayala compared his job at the school to the Bid Patrol.
“[Harvard-Westlake is] less dangerous, less fighting, less dealing with criminal elements”, Ayala said.
Ayala’s former partner from the Hollywood Bid Patrol, Leonard Sterling, started working at the middle schoool around two years ago. He suggested Ayala should come if he had the opportunity. Now, Ayala and Sterling work together again.
“To have him [Ayala] as my supervisor is pretty good because we get along pretty well,” Sterling said.
Before Sterling left the Bid Patrol, Ayala didn’t know anything about Harvard-Westlake. “[I was] Surprised the school was here that I never knew about, but all the people have been great, parents and students,”Ayala said.