Police officers visiting her home were a common experience for Amanda Lane when she was growing up. Her brother suffered from mental illness and, as he grew older, he committed criminal acts, she says.

Lane’s mother was a single mom and she had to call the police to aid her with her son. “Most of the officers who responded to our house were kind,” Lane says. “And I watched them do their best to help my mom with the limited resources they had available to deal with an out-of-control teenager with mental health issues who was breaking the law.”

The experiences of her youth led Lane to study psychology in college. After earning her degree, she worked in mental health centers with adult felony offenders and became certified in crisis intervention. She also worked child protection investigations, including “intrafamilial sexual assault cases.” To improve her performance in that position, she took a class in forensic interviewing, and her instructors convinced her that she should become a law enforcement officer.

Lane graduated top of her class from the police academy and signed on with the Castle Rock (Colorado) Police Department . She’s now served with that agency nine year and risen to the rank of sergeant.

Sergeant Lane says she loves her profession and her work for the community, but being a woman and a cop has presented her with some hurdles she had to overcome and has required sacrifice. “It takes a certain level of confidence, grit, and courage to be a female officer in a male-centric field,” she says.

It’s also taken a toll on Lane’s personal life. “When I finally found my calling, I lost my marriage, I lost some friends, and I lost some of my innocence,” Lane says.

But all the sacrifice has not discouraged her. After experiencing the challenges and rewards of law enforcement leadership as a patrol sergeant, Lane’s ultimate goal is to become a chief and influence the culture of an agency. “I want to leave the profession better off than it was when I entered it,” she says.