Pandemonium is the best way to describe the four-way stop in front of UHS. Aggressive student drivers, confused parents, ignorant bikers and slow-moving pedestrians crowd the intersection in the hectic mornings and afternoons. Without the help of UHS’ very own crossing guard, crossing this nightmare of an intersection would be near impossible.
Meet Randy Gibbs. Gibbs has called Campus and Paseo Montoya his home for over seven years, working one hour in the morning and another in the afternoon to ensure the safety of students as they traverse to and from school.
Gibbs, a retired graphic designer, was contracted with the Irvine Police Department (IPD) in 2016 to work at UHS for two hours every day.
“When I retired, I decided I needed to do something else rather than just sit at home,” Gibbs said.
Gibbs heard about the opportunity to work with the IPD through one of his friends and decided to learn more about it.
“I thought that sounded great because I could provide a service for somebody,” Gibbs said. “I would also get to work with kids.”
Before becoming a crossing guard with the IPD, Gibbs had to undergo four months of background checks to make sure that he hadn’t committed any crimes in the past.
“After around half a year, they told me to work at University High School, and I was surprised because most places were elementary schools with tiny kids,” Gibbs said. “So now I’m here and I love it, and I love the students.”
In addition to working as a crossing guard at UHS, Gibbs also shapes surfboards. He owns a company, Gibbs Surfboards, where he shapes and sells the surfboards he creates.
“I used to be a skateboarder, skating in empty swimming pools and things like that,” Gibbs said. “I’ve been surfing for probably around 35 years. I was doing the surfboard thing on the side for a while before I retired.”
Besides Southern California, Gibbs has lived in many other locations.
“I was born in Ogden, Utah,” Gibbs said. “I lived there until I moved to California and I went to Buena Park High School.”
After he graduated from high school, Gibbs attended Fullerton Junior College for around a year before going on a mission trip with his church.
“At age eighteen I was really active in my church and I went on a mission with my church for two years,” Gibbs said.
After returning from his church mission, Gibbs enrolled at Arizona State University where he initially studied law, but soon found that he didn’t enjoy it.
“I was always into art, so I switched over from pre-law and wanted to teach and do art,” Gibbs said. “I got my degrees, my Bachelor of Fine Arts, and my Master of Fine Arts from art school in Arizona State University.”
After school, Gibbs worked with an advertising agency to create ads for different companies in newspapers and magazines.
Gibbs’s father was a corpsman in the Navy and Gibbs himself served in the military as a member of the Army Reserve during the Vietnam War.
“I didn’t go to Vietnam,” Gibbs said. “But I ended up going to Texas and Washington, and I trained to be a medic. I thought that if I was going to go into the Army I was going to do something worthwhile, so I wanted to be a medic.”
While in the military, Gibbs took a class on skydiving and enjoyed it.
“The guys there were kind of living crazy wild lives and so I thought I needed to do something different,” Gibbs said.
After taking the class, Gibbs moved on to other similar thrill-seeking activities.
“I got addicted to that, and so I got into hang gliding,” Gibbs said. “I loved all that kind of stuff. It was such a rush. Maybe that’s why I like working here, dodging cars as they come flying by.”
Gibbs also expressed his appreciation toward the students at UHS for the gratitude shown to him in the mornings and afternoons.
“I’m blown away by how many kids will say thank you as they come across,” Gibbs said. “We’re not supposed to ask kids questions and things like that, but some kids will get really friendly and want to know my name. I say I never want to be called Mr. Gibbs, but [instead] Randy.”
Gibbs was also impressed by how the students at UHS seemed motivated to perform well academically.
“You guys are really courteous and you’re really focused on learning,” Gibbs said. “You’re really focused on what you want, so just stick to it.”
Gibbs is an integral part of UHS and works hard to maintain the safety of the students here, so it’s important to make sure that he receives appreciation and recognition for his work. Next time you cross the street, make sure to thank him for what he does for the school to make UHS a more positive place.
