Giving women a look at life inside of the Plano Police Department is the goal of Saturday's Women in Law Enforcement career event.
"It's a male-dominated field, so we want to go out of our way to say, 'Hey, there is a place for you here at the Plano Police Department,'" Plano officer Hayley Dick said.
Throughout the day, women had a chance to hear first-hand about the unique opportunities for them to serve in all areas of the department.
Women like Abigail Lenus who said it's her life-long dream to become a police officer.
"When I was in middle school I really wanted to be in law enforcement, it came out of nowhere. I knew that I had to do it," Lenus said.
She said being there made that dream even more clear.
"I love helping people and just watching the news and seeing how many people are getting hurt, it just compelled me to want to help and be there for others," Lenus said.
Natausha Johnson decided in college that she'd like to train for the academy.
"But then life happened, I got married, had kids, you know -- all that. I'm kind of regrouping to come back around to what I had originally set out to do," Johnson said.
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Sixteen percent of Plano's police force is made up of women, which is 3% above the national average. But leaders at the department said they were hopeful that events Saturday's would encourage even more women to apply.
"That they walk out, maybe they already have a small fire, hopefully it burns brighter and they walk away -- that they know that they have a chance and there is a place for them here at the Plano Police Department," Dick said.
