Where Are They Now? Leslie Mathis

Throughout his life, Leslie Mathis has gravitated toward jobs that place him in the role of protector — from protecting his community as a policeman, to protecting the country in the military and national guard, to his current job protecting the Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant as a security officer.

“I’ve always had a sense of duty, and I just love to help people and work with the public,” he said.

Mathis graduated from Dublin High School in 1997, and started working at FMC as a machine operator, machining washers for the Crosby valve line. He stayed there for a couple of years before leaving to fulfil one of his lifelong dreams: becoming a policeman.

Mathis had grown up watching his father, Ricky Mathis, work as a policeman, and knew he wanted to go to the police academy himself sometime. “That’s what I’d wanted to do ever since I was a kid,” he said.

He graduated from the police academy in 2000, and was soon hired at the Dublin Police Department. Mathis worked there for a year and a half — and then 9/11 hit. After the tragedy, Mathis felt a surge of patriotism and knew he needed to find a way to help.

“Shortly after 9/11, my grandpa passed away,” Mathis said. “He served in World War Two, and he had a funeral where they had military personnel out there. That sort of sparked a flame in me — I wanted to join.”

Mathis enlisted that year, and once he completed training he was sent to Iraq. “I was in Iraq between January 2004 and February 2005,” he said. “I was in the infantry, and my main duty over there was driving the convoy security vehicle between our bases.”

The deployment was challenging for Mathis. “You can’t just rely on yourself over there,” he said. “You’ve got to rely on other people to help you through stuff. When I was over there, we all watched each other’s back. That’s your family over there, and that’s how we got through it.”

When his term in the military was up, Mathis was assigned to a National Guard unit out of Mineral Wells. “I was only there for about a month when Hurricane Katrina hit, and we got called up to deal with the National Guard over to New Orleans,” he said. “We basically were walking the streets there during the day using chainsaws, just cleaning up and trying to make it more livable for the people of Louisiana.” In 2005, when Hurricane

Rita was brewing, Mathis and some other National Guard members returned to Texas to help out in the aftermath.

Once he got out of the National Guard, Mathis started working in construction with various companies. “I’ve always been in the construction mindset, and it was something I always wanted to do, and that I knew how to do,” he said.

After a while of this, he found a full-time job at Saint Gobain as a machine operator. “That was actually one one of the most fun jobs I’ve had,” he said. “I really enjoyed the people I worked with there.”

Then, in 2008, an opportunity opened at Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant for a security guard, and Mathis applied. “It was a job where I would get to do what I loved and had always done, which is being a cop/military/ security person,” he said.

He got the job, and still works there today. Working in security at the plant means that Mathis spends his days running routes and patrols around the facility, and controlling who can access the building. “I’ve been there for 13 years now, and I don’t plan on leaving anytime soon,” he said.

In 2016, Mathis used some of his military benefits to go back to college and earn an associates degree in business management, which he hopes may help him move up within the security department at Comanche Peak.

“When I was younger, college wasn’t right for me,” he said. “I wasn’t motivated and wasn’t ready to sit down and do any more school after high school. But doing it now, I actually maintained a real good GPA, and got invited to the Honors Society.”

The next position from Mathis’ current job as a security officer would be a sergeant. “Hopefully they’ll see [my degree] as another notch in my belt,” he said.

When he’s not working, Mathis enjoys hunting, fishing and riding his motorcycle. He also loves to spend time with his daughter Mackenzie Mathis, who is a senior at Dublin High School. “These last six years I’ve been going to all the football games in all weather to watch her cheer,” he said.

Although he and Mackenzie’s mother, Mindy Mathis, are separated, the two remain good friends.

Throughout his life, Mathis has drawn inspiration from his two older siblings, Derick Mathis and Shenel Mathis Kanz. “My brother and my sister have been particularly good role models to me,” he said. “Everything I do, I try to follow in their footsteps. I couldn’t have asked for a better older brother and sister.”

Mathis’ father, Ricky Mathis, passed away earlier this year. His mother, Janet Mathis, still lives in Dublin.

Mathis’ advice to Dublin graduates is to push themselves to get out and have new experiences. “Go out and try to experience everything you can,” he said. “There’s a whole world out there. The military was hard, but there’s one thing I really loved about it was it did get me out of Dublin and gave me the experiences I’ve had. It’s pretty much made me who I am today.”

Editor’s Note: This column chronicles what Dublin graduates have done since high school. If you have any suggestions for other graduates, email publisher@dublincitizen.com.