Unpopular Opinion: You Can Be Professional Without Giving Up Your Personality

Written by Hannah Tucker, published November 9, 2021

I was standing at my friend’s console the other day, talking to her and her trainee about different hair colors. I had my first 911 speaking experience coming up and my roots looked rough, so it was time for a color refresh. We were debating between a blue and a purple, when from the other side of the room I hear this shout saying, “Do not dye your hair purple before speaking at a conference!” from another coworker. I continued speaking with my friend who then echoed the same sentiment. This wasn’t the first time I’d heard statements like this before; it comes with the territory of having an “unnatural appearance.” Friends, family, coworkers, even strangers all sometimes felt the need to give their opinions on my appearance or make assumptions about me based off my tattoos, piercings, hair color, or even my clothing. Ultimately though, it all comes back to relatively the same sentiment: “You don’t look professional.”

“Well, you know this going to happen, so why do you keep doing it?” is usually the next logical question. To answer that, I need tell you a little more about myself and my time in public service. I like to affectionately refer to myself as a human confetti popper. My personality is bright and shiny, my happiness tends to radiate. I see myself as a bunch of colors swirling around together, and that is the place I chose to exist. My hair changes colors regularly, my outfits and accessories are a bit eccentric, my default voice setting is a normal person after two cups of coffee, and I am overjoyed that I get to be like this. I started my career in 911 at barely 19 years old. I was seen as too young to be capable or competent by some on both sides of the radio and knew from my very first day that I was going to have to prove myself. I started on a radio with a quiet voice but quickly learned that I needed to be louder and a bit more assertive; however, I missed the correlation between assertive and mean. I was told to talk on the radio how I do in real life, not to use a radio voice. So that’s what I did. I pumped up the volume and let my personality shine through. I used all the professional codes and signals and developed my skills to be a rather competent telecommunicator and I earned the trust of my coworkers and responders. But my ability wasn’t enough. I spent many days in my assistant director’s office getting told that I needed to “tone it down” or “be more professional” and listening to other people step in on my behalf. Not because I wasn’t being professional, but because I didn’t fit into the box of general professionalism. In three and a half years, nothing has really changed. Every day I make a choice to continue being like this, because this is who I am.

We talk about existing as our true 911der Woman selves all over this place, and this is mine. I make no apologies for it. I am confident in who I am, and I choose to exist in my individual space as a neurodivergent LGBTQIA+ person with a bright swirl of colors and light as a personality. I am big and I am bold. I will not break myself down in order to be more manageable for other people. I don’t have to give up my personality to be professional or be good at my job, and you don’t either. You do not have to tear yourself into bite-sized pieces just so that you can be consumable to others. You are allowed to be confident in yourself and be your true self to the best of your abilities, whether that is being a pink- haired dispatcher with heart-shaped glasses or just swapping out your uniform lanyard for something you like better. Regardless, you are still worthy and deserve to take up space. You can be your own authentic individual self and still be a competent professional.

Thank you, Hannah, for sharing your talents with us. If you are interested in writing a blog, please email 911derWomen@gmail.com. Sign up for our newsletter on our homepage to stay up to date with 911der Women programming, exclusive content and blog updates. Click here and scroll to the bottom.