Jefferson City police officer Meredith Friedman knows her job isn't easy, but being able to resolve problems and have a positive impact on people is part of why she loves it.
"It's one of those jobs where you have to love it," Friedman said, noting the job would not be worthwhile without passion for the field.
Friedman became interested in police work during college, when she took a criminal justice course, which she enjoyed. After taking several more classes in the field, she realized that area is what interested her and she wanted to learn more.
"That was the first time in a long time that I was like "I'm genuinely into this,'" Friedman said. "I looked forward to going to class."
In her senior year of college, Friedman received an internship at the Cedar Rapids Police Department in Iowa, where she went to work with a police officer every day for one month. It was there that she saw the real world impacts of being a police officer in both good and bad situations. Friedman recalled arriving to the scene of a drug overdose where, among the chaos of the scene, a child of the victim was standing alone in tears.
"I'm standing there thinking ... if one cop would just turn around and take him to his dad," Friedman said. "That's all he needed. ... There's got to be a better way to do this."
Friedman said it was that moment that made her think this was the right path for her.
Earlier this year, Friedman received the medal of honor at a Jefferson City Council meeting for her involvement in a structure fire where, as the first emergency responder on scene, she entered the burning residence after hearing voices and successfully guided two people out of the home. The fire occurred in October 2012 and destroyed the home of Rudy and Dorothy Lemke.
Friedman saw heavy smoke pouring from the building and heard a man and woman calling to one another. While both Rudy and Dorothy made it to the ground floor the night of the fire, Rudy exited the front door thinking Dorothy was right behind him. Dorothy, seeking a coat from a closet near the family room, had grown confused in the dense smoke.
Although areas of the first floor were falling into the basement, Friedman, who was carrying a bright flashlight, was able to locate Dorothy at the rear of the home and lead her to safety. After the incident - which was caused by faulty wiring - Dorothy later would say, "Just when I had no hope, I saw this bright light and saw a woman's face in front of me. It was like an angel who came to save my life."
Friedman said receiving the medal of honor was completely unexpected and a little embarrassing, but very nice and appreciated.
"Anybody would have done the same thing, I just happened to get there first," Friedman said.
"It's exciting. ... You kind of carry yourself a little higher (after receiving the medal).
"I'm not used to having that kind of recognition."
Friedman said it can be uncomfortable to be put in the spotlight simply for doing your job, a job that any other officer would have performed as well.
"It's always a team effort," Friedman said. "As an officer, you don't really look at what I did versus what officer B did versus what officer C did. This needed to be done and you got it done. That's all there was to it."
And Friedman continues to do that work each day and she has no plans to change unless it stops being an enjoyable job.
"I genuinely like what I do," Friedman said. "When you quit enjoying coming to work is when you need to reconsider."