Each time someone calls in an emergency, they reach a dispatcher. A dispatcher relays the message to a first responder. At the University of Illinois Springfield, there are a total of four trained dispatchers, with a fifth person currently in training. Nicole “Nicki” Rakes is one of the four fully-trained dispatchers with the UIS Police Department.

As of Oct. 2, Rakes has been a dispatcher at UIS for 10 years. Rakes applied at UIS due to the fact that she was interested in dispatching.

She said, “It was never the police aspect that was attractive to me, I never wanted to be a police officer, but I’ve always enjoyed helping people. When I was younger, I wanted to be a teacher, because I love helping little kids. This is just as rewarding. I feel like we help people.”

Her favorite calls to receive are the ones that hold appreciation, such as giving directions. “To us, things seem so small,” Rakes said, “but to other people they seem so much bigger. I tell them I’m just doing my job, and they say they really appreciate it.”

One of the many programs that dispatchers use is the Rave Guardian Program. This is a user-friendly safety app that notifies police once a timer hits zero and a code is not pressed in. The dispatchers have a specific computer for this program.

Along with working the Rave Guardian program, there are many different aspects to the job of a dispatcher. Rakes discussed some of the few things they do. “We answer phones. We deal with the officers over the radio. We have our programs where we run police information,” she described. “We have simplex computer, which has the fire alarms, carbon dioxide detectors, panic alarms in laundry rooms and in housing, and a bunch of different alarms that are across campus.”

Dispatchers also assist students in non-emergencies. “We also handle a lot of afterhours things for people, like with iCards. If students lose their iCards, we deactivate them, the office is closed, so they call us,” Rakes said. “A lot of our programs are to just look up information. Just about everything is at your fingertips, depending on what our officers want.”

Rake has been dealing with the demands of being a dispatcher for a while. Sergeant Zachary Miller, a co-worker of Rakes’, said that she “is an excellent, dedicated dispatcher.”

“She’s eager to learn and is very adaptable. One officer comes in asking her for something then another comes in asking for something, she’s willing and able to help,” Miller said. “She’s also good very at communicating with people, with her superiors, coworkers, students, faulty, people who come onto post, or people who call in. She develops good relationships with people.”

The relationships and environment that have been developed is part of why Rakes has stayed interested in dispatching over the years.

“The environment has kept me here,” she said. “[Chief Don Mitchell] is probably the best boss I’ve ever had … I started here because I was interested in the police and dispatching, but I’ve stayed because somebody appreciates the work I do. [Lieutenant Brad Stickler] and really everyone else is good about making you feel appreciated about the work you do here and you don’t get that at every job. The environment is more like a family environment.”

Rakes is originally from Morton, but moved to Chatham when she was in sixth grade. When she was 20 years old, Rakes applied as a dispatcher at UIS and Chatham, which is where she currently lives with her husband and 2-year-old son on her husband’s family’s farm.

Within the 10 years of her employment, she has married, had her son, and is now expecting her first girl later this month. In the times she is not at the police station, Rakes said she can be found with her son.

“We do a lot of outside activities. There’s so much for us to do. With the four wheelers, it doesn’t get boring because there are so many places we could go,” she said.

Due to her daughter’s quickly approaching arrival, Rakes will be on leave until Jan. 24. She would like students, faculty and staff to know, “They can call [dispatch] anytime. Some people think we’re closed. We don’t ever close. We’re opened 24/7, on holidays … someone is always here to answer phones.”

She continued, “Even the silliest of calls, we’ll never make someone feel stupid for calling, it’s what we’re here for. It’s why we’re here: to make sure everything is okay … Sometimes people will call in and be like ‘you probably don’t care. It probably doesn’t matter.’ I tell them, ‘Everything matters and we always care.’ Even if it’s something so small to you, call us and let us know so we can take care of it. When people wait, it’s a lot harder to take care of it. Every minute counts. Call as soon as possible, you’ll never bother us. It’s what we’re here for.”