Boston Latin School students crossing the ever-busy Avenue Louis Pasteur are likely to see crossing guard Zach Badgett directing the flow of traffic across the street.
Zach is a school traffic supervisor at BLS, a position which he obtained this past summer. His primary responsibility is working with different staff members to coordinate the safe passage of both pedestrians and vehicles.
Zach typically wakes up early and travels to the school to take up his duties. After taking about ten minutes to prepare for the onslaught of traffic, Zach starts putting out cones on the street. He helps people cross from 7:00 A.M. to 8:00 A.M. before leaving and clocking in at the police station to register his morning shift.
Afterwards, Zach returns home and completes his errands before returning to BLS around 2:00 P.M. for dismissal, where he helps direct the MBTA buses and aids in the safe crossing of students and other pedestrians. He sticks around until 3:00 P.M. in order to make sure that people can cross without issue.
Leyla Jade Sanchez (VI), who often sees Zach while crossing the street in the morning, reflects, “One day, I was kind of having a bad morning because I didn’t sleep very well, and he just was telling everyone […] ‘have a good day.’ […] And he says that every morning. If there’s something eventful happening, he’ll mention it. […] So it’s nice that you start the day with him saying something sweet.”
Zach also tries to ensure student safety by encouraging them not to look down at their phones while walking and to look both ways before crossing the street. A large part of his job is trying to make sure the drivers and pedestrians alike are aware of their surroundings.
Zach’s job is not easy; it is a physically taxing job that can be affected by bad weather. Being a crossing guard has changed both his schedule and his lifestyle, as he is not able to take personal days off. His biggest challenges include the dangers of unaware drivers making a U-turn in the street and the lack of awareness some pedestrians can have.
Zach reveals he took this job because he thought it fit him personally. He was studying to go into the field of information technology and thought it would be a good way to work and study at the same time in order to get his dream job.
Assistant to the Head of School Ms. Martha Pierce adds, “[Zach] always brightens the day and brightens people’s mornings. […] [He’s] professional, positive, enthusiastic, spirited, kind, compassionate […] [and] very much wants to be part of the community.”
Besides helping BLS students on a daily basis, Zach also enjoys playing video games and cooking. He especially enjoys watching anime and states that he is very open to conversations on the subject. He admires Japanese culture and plans to go to Japan after this year.
Zach sadly plans to leave this role at the end of this year and work for a different organization. Despite this, Zach notes that he would love to come back and say “hi” if he has the opportunity.
Despite facing various challenges that come with being a crossing guard, Zach enjoys his job and interacting with the BLS community. He concludes, “From the start of arriving here, the atmosphere the school gives off, I loved it from the start. […] Interacting with everyone made it feel like I was part of a family. […] The connection I had with the students was great.”