Juvenile Officer Nicole Casalnuovo enthusiastically cheers on a young gymnast on the balance beam, instructing her how to do a perfectly balanced leap. Dedicated and engaged, she follows every movement with bated breath, as if she were the one staring down the narrow plank. Many years later, after working the night shift for the PPD, Casalnuovo returns to working with youth in her position as juvenile officer.

“I was a gymnast for about 25 years of my life,” Casalnuovo said. “I coached for about 18 years, everything from little mommy and me all the way to collegiate gymnastics.”

Even though she has always had a passion for gymnastics, when Casalnuovo got to college she was unsure of the right career path for her. However, she fell in love with classes on law enforcement, specifically juvenile justice. She said that the fact that she has family members who are officers greatly influenced her decision.

“It’s in my family,” she said. “My brother [works] in law enforcement as well as my grandfather and my sister in law,” Casalnuovo said.

Casalnuovo said that before she became a police officer, she decided to serve in the Air Force where she picked up a variety of skills.

“I speak Mandarin because I was an intelligence and an analyst in the military,” Casanuovo said.

She ended up serving for eight years before working as a police officer, she said.

“She was in the military, which is surprising because she is about my height and blonde,” senior Amelia Cesario said. “She doesn’t look like she could hurt a fly.”

Cesario said that she has had the opportunity to go on ride-alongs with Casalnuovo through the Junior Police Explorers program and has really enjoyed getting to know her.

“Overall, she’s a really kind person,” she said.

After working in other districts, Casalnuovo eventually decided to come to Piedmont in 2015, where she has been working the night shift, Chief of Police Jeremy Bowers said. She also recently qualified to become an acting watch commander. However, she has always had a passion to work with youth.

“She has a desire, first and foremost, to work with kids,” Bowers said.

This desire is one of the main reasons she was offered the position of juvenile officer, Bowers said.

“I want to do this because I love my job,” Casalnuovo said. “I love the kids here and I love the community.”