professions denise dupuie, port huron the missing link by Patti Samar When she was 30 years old, Denise Dupuie, a native of Marysville, had it all. She had graduated from college following high school and had earned a degree in criminal justice. She had a supportive husband, two children and a cahllenging job working for a nonprofit organization. But she knew, in the back of her mind, that something was missing. She wanted to help people. No, she needed to help people. That was when she decided it was time to dust off her degree in justice studies and pursue her lifelong dream. Today, just seven short years after beginning her career as a federal officer, Dupuie is a supervisor with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, a division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. She is also the commander of the Detroit Field Office Honor Guard, which presents the U.S. flag at official and public events and also at the funerals of officers. “It was a late development in life,” she said, noting that many begin their careers right out of high school. “I had everything but I was missing that one thing. I want to help people. I want to protect people. I have wanted to do that since I was 16. And when I was 30, I said, ‘this is what I want to do.’” And by all accounts, Dupuie has done it all exceptionally well. In just seven years on the job, she has been promoted to supervisor and at any given time has no less than 30 officers reporting to her. A key to her success, she noted , is also a part of her life philosophy: just take every day and every situation as it comes. “I take everything in perspective,” said Dupuie, who projects an attentive, thoughtful and calming demeanor. “Are there days that have a higher stress level? Yes. Are there days that are busier? Yes. But a bad day? Well, that’s all relative.” As anyone who lives in the Blue Water Area knows, border protection is very serious business. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency is charged with evaluating and monitoring the movement of people and goods across the border. An encounter with any of the officers at the border will determine whether or not someone or something is admitted entry into the United States. Officers like Dupuie are trained to determine whether or not people are deemed admissible into the country. While she notes that it is a satisfying experience to identify someone of interest who may or may not be allowed to proceed into the country, Dupuie noted: “You don’t know what got them to where they are now. You treat them with the dignity and respect that they deserve.” And wearing a uniform and carrying a weapon to work each day is not lost on Dupuie, as is the importance of building strong relationships with her fellow officers. “When you show up for work each day, you never know if you are going to need them to save your life that day,” she said. It is also not lost on Dupuie that, as a female, she is working in a male-dominated environment, but that doesn’t bother her in the least. “I think females shouldn’t be intimidated by a predominantly male occupation,” she said. She noted that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection is actively recruiting female officers due to a recent decline in female applicants and there are many career opportunities for women in federal service. Dupuie clearly enjoys what she does for a living and she encourages other women to find their passion and pursue their goals and dreams just as she did at 30 years of age. “A lot of people are not content,” she noted. “There’s always that fear that people have…that they might fail. Just go for it,“ she said. “It can be that final link in your happiness.” 6 <strong>summer</strong> <strong>2014</strong> BlueWaterWoman.com
<strong>summer</strong> <strong>2014</strong> BlueWaterWoman.com 7