The halls of Manhattan High School West Campus would not be safe without the work of our security officers, Harold Statton and Randy Nivert. With each passing year, these individuals tend to grow unnoticed. So let’s take a minute and learn a little more about them:

Harold Statton

Coming up on his 23rd year as a security officer for MHS, Harold Statton hasn’t always worked at MHS. Before he worked here, he was drafted into the army.

“Actually I was going to college and I didn’t register in the summer and I ended up getting drafted in the fall,” Statton said. “When I went in [to the Army] I just stayed in the service [and] I enjoyed it. I traveled and all that good stuff.”

Being drafted during college allowed for Statton to finish an associates degree in Physical Education. However, he ended up serving in the Army for 23 years.

“[One of the biggest takeaways from the Army is] probably the time I spent in Iraq, the initial Desert Storm,” Statton said. “That, and the experience of traveling overseas and meeting people from different countries and things of that nature.”

With his four daughters graduating from here, and one daughter returning to teach here for seven years, MHS has been a big part of Statton’s life for a while. Statton believes that the atmosphere of MHS is why he and others are drawn to MHS.

Randy Nivert

After having gone to school at Manhattan High School in the 1960s and the 1970s, Randy Nivert, was already familiar with the high school 19 years ago when he started teaching here.

Nivert has seen the school change first hand, having grown up in the area.

“Since I was here the first time [attending MHS] it was a whole lot bigger, about three times as big,” Nivert said. “There’s more diversity, and a lot more groups for kids to be in. There are so many different sports and activities. It didn’t used to be that many, and it seems like every year it grows a bit bigger.”

Before working at MHS, Nivert ran a grocery store and was in charge of Ogden’s Maintenance Department.

“I was the maintenance supervisor, in other words the maintenance department was under my direction,” Nivert said. “[I ran] my grandparents grocery store. We sold it back in 1996; the business got bad, because Fort Riley got smaller.”

Then, Nivert came on as an assistant teacher in the oracle room, allowing him to become the oracle teacher for 18 years. This is Nivert’s first year as a security officer.

“As a security officer I try to keep moving, and get around the building, and be there for the kids,” Nivert said. “Push them to get to class, sometimes if you get after them it will keep them out of trouble.”

Both Statton and Nivert feel that the main goal for their job is to be there for the students.

“I try to make everybody smile, if I can make one person smile in a day I’ve done my job,” Nivert said.