‘My mommy is sick.’

Sean Woyna remembers hearing these words from someone who could not have been older than four.

“She keeps shaking and rolling over,” the small voice on the other end of the line said. “She won’t stop. We need help.”

Woyna is a 21-year-old double major in psychology and sociology and works 40 hours a week. But when he heard these pleas for help, time slowed to a crawl.

“I do this because I love to help people,” Woyna said, “but some calls are a lot harder to handle than others.”

Woyna is a police telecommunicator for the NIU police department. Telecommunicators oversee the dispatch of all aspects of the NIU Department of Public Safety. They receive and dispatch campus 911 calls, coordinate the late night ride service and coordinate general police activities on campus.

“Dispatchers are critical,” said Lieutenant Darren Mitchell of the NIU Department of Public Safety. “They are our first line of response to critical emergencies.”

The dispatch desk is a collection of flashing green, white and yellow buttons, with numerous screens relaying all types of information. A long microphone extends out toward the telecommunicator’s chair. Only five of the buttons are routinely used, Woyna said.

The best part of his job is being able to help people, he said.

“It’s nice to know that I help people on a daily basis,” Woyna said. “It helps make the hours worth it.”

He works the night shift, beginning at 10 p.m. and ending at 6 a.m., Thursday through Monday. It takes a certain kind of temperament to handle the phones.

“Sean is always upbeat,” Mitchell said. “He never seems to have a ‘bad day.'”

Woyna does not feel intimidated by the importance of his job. He has always felt more mature than his peers and feels that his personality allows him to stay calm when answering calls like the one from the scared little girl.

His fiancé, Anastasia Wiltgen, agrees.

“Sean is very focused and determined,” Wiltgen said. “He can multitask and does not stress easily.”

Since the shooting last February, very little has changed at the dispatch department because of the previous good response, Woyna said. There has been an increased focus on training, with a major training program in place this week.

“I don’t mind that I’m up late doing this job,” said Woyna. “It helps me sleep better during the day knowing that I helped someone feel safer at night.”