The alarm blares at 4 a.m. as School Resources Officer Chad Garton rolled out of bed. After grabbing a quick breakfast and reading the newspaper, Garton begins the 45-mile drive from his home to Saratoga.

Garton’s day officially starts at approximately 7 a.m. Throughout the day, he touches base with the administration and is updated with information at each of the nine schools he helps, most of which are in Saratoga or the west side of Santa Clara County.

For example, when Monta Vista junior Connor Sullivan went missing on April 20, Garton, along with several other deputies, conducted searches after hours until Sullivan returned home two days later on his own.

While on duty as a school resource officer, which he has been since 2013, Garton deals with student misconduct serious enough to require intervention by law enforcement. He acts as a mediator between the sheriff's office and the schools he oversees.

“Whatever [students] need, I’m here to provide service for,” Garton said. “I can answer questions and, only if need be, take enforcing action if somebody commits a crime.”

Before working in this area, Garton graduated in the Homestead High School Class of 2002. Four years later, he graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, double majoring in political science and military science.

Later that year, Garton enlisted in the U.S. Army, where he served from 2006 to 2012 in the Active and Reserves field.

“I joined the army in 2006 because I felt like it was my duty to sign up and defend my country,” Garton said.

Six years after first enlisting, Garton was deployed to one of the most dangerous war zones — Iraq, where the U.S. was mired in the Iraq War.

“I tried not to end up in the Middle East because it was really hot and [sandy],” Garton said. “When I was over there, there [were] a lot of people shooting at us, and it was not fun.”

Once his term ended in 2008, Garton returned to the Bay Area without a job or a place to live. For two months, Garton stayed at his parents’ house while he searched for a job.

During this transition, Garton struggled to let go of his war experiences.

“Obviously, working in the U.S. is not like working in a war zone; you can’t treat it like a war zone,” Garton said. “Not everyone is out here to get you, and it’s a hard transition to make.”

When he was looking for a job after returning to the Bay Area, Garton seized the opportunity to be a sheriff’s deputy in 2007. He held various positions at the sheriff’s office, including deputy sheriff for seven years and, currently, tactical flight observer, in which he co-pilots a search helicopter a few times a month.

His time as a sheriff’s deputy has exposed him to a different people’s perspectives, forcing him to talk to individuals who he would not have otherwise associated with.

In 2011, Garton arrested a homeless man who was living on Stevens Creek Boulevard in Cupertino twice for possession of heroin. The man was severely unhealthy and his body was “destroying itself.”

After the man was released from jail for the second time, Garton began to check up on him, glad that he was attempting to stay sober.

Garton knew that the man loved the soda Dr. Pepper, and brought him a six pack of the soda each time he visited him.

Two years later, Garton tracked the man down and discovered that the he was still off drugs and gotten a job. The man thanked Garton, saying that if it were not for Garton checking up on him, he likely would have died.

“This man had the will to change his situation, and just needed a little help and a kind smile,” Garton said.

Along with helping out the general the area, he spends his time helping to prevent crime and enforce the law in specific schools, where he tries to resolve issues with minimal punishment.

Often times, the students he deals with are also battling depression.

To motivate both these students and students dealing with substance abuse or suicidal thoughts, Garton relates to them one of his life mottos: “Nothing is ever as bad as it seems.”

Although Garton sometimes has to deal with students who are struggling with serious issues, he thoroughly enjoys his job.

“I just like being able to go out and interact with people,” Garton said. “I can’t imagine having a desk job where I’m just sitting there inputting numbers and working on a spreadsheet all day. I’d go crazy.”

Garton particularly enjoys interacting with high school students, who are better able to understand his sarcastic humor than middle and elementary school students.

“[High school students] are getting ready to go off to college and start these great, exciting lives of their own, and I’m so excited to come to talk to them,” Garton said. “There is so much opportunity, and they’re all really excited about it.”