Some may say who is Jeff Latkowski? Well, he’s a father, a firefighter, and a veteran in the army. Those things alone don’t define Jeff Latkowski. He is the definition of a role model, an advocate, and someone to emulate. Latkowski is a 48-year old father of five and when speaking with him, you quickly see that being in the army and being a firefighter helped shape the person he is today.
When talking with the Latkowski family about how Jeff Latkowski’s experiences affected his life and how he acts around them, Leo Latkowski, the son of Jeff Latkowski said this,
“You can definitely see the tendencies and just overall well being that has come out of him and I think a big part of this is his time in the army and being a firefighter.”
Latkowski himself is very proud of, not just entering the military, but successfully serving throughout his many years in the army. He personally thinks that it helped to not only shape his character but also how he teaches his kids and how he treats others.
He said, “A huge accomplishment I had was going through the military and I look back and I’m very prideful that I could do that.”
Another accomplishment that Latkowski is very proud of is when he applied for his firefighter position at the West Bloomfield Fire Department. At the time he applied, there were 250-300 people who also applied for only two open spots in the department.
When Latkowski got the good news that he ended up getting the job he was ecstatic and couldn’t be happier.
He was so happy that he mentioned this, “When I got the call for them to offer me the job, it was one of the greatest moments of my life – knowing that I could do something I really love doing, for a good department.”
Latkowski has shown his kindness and passion to care for others through the fire department and attending the army but also in his walk with God and through his own religion of Christianity.
He says this about his faith, “My relationship with God has helped me through a lot of good times and bad times in my life.”
Some of these hard times Latkowski was referring to was when his own wife got diagnosed with breast cancer. Not only for him, but for his entire family, it was a very trying time and morale was low. The Latkowski family really relied on God and their belief in Jesus to make it through these tough times.
When asked what gave Latkowski a unique strength through such a difficult time, he said, “There’s always something good that comes out of it, even bad things” and “I try to do best I can with whatever I’m doing.”
This mindset is very positive and Latkowski even says that with a mindset like this it helps to look at not only the situations with a better view but looking at the world with the same idea.
While Latkowski excels at having a good and positive mindset in life, he shared that a couple of his main weaknesses are self doubt and having low confidence. He states that when he was younger, he struggled having interactions with others he didn’t know as well and was extremely self conscious.
Throughout life, Latkwoski worked tirelessly to change this mindset. He worked at developing confidence and said “I use self doubt and lack of confidence as fuel to help me continue forward.”
This not only shows his development throughout life but how he can use his previous experiences as “fuel” to help and encourage him to keep on going and to improve himself.
Latkowski didn’t just join the Army or the West Bloomfield Fire Department for himself. He truly enjoys caring for people and making them feel comfortable, even during some of the worst times of their lives.
When he was asked what he would want his future to look like in ten years, he responded with “I hope to be able to keep helping and volunteering for the community because that’s something I really like to do.”
He also shared “I hope that I feel like I made a difference, that I brought joy to people, that through my actions I can be a lampost for God and his light and I didn’t waste the little time we have here.”
This helps to show his determination and dedication to always look out for people. He also states that a lot of this mindset is primarily from the fact of his occupations and the people around him.
This really helps to show his priorities for life and the fact that Lakowski looks after people and hopefully has had a positive impact on their lives.
While a lot of people say Latkowski has an amazing personality and is an overall outstanding person, he says his friends and co-workers have made a huge impact on his life. He gave more credit toward his friends and mentors. A couple of mentors that Lakowski met in the Army were Sergeant William J. Lax, Mike Greko, and Rick Graulich.
Latkowski even states that “If any of these men called me today I would do anything for them no questions asked.”
This really helps to show his loyalty towards these men and really shows the true respect Latkowski has for them. Another group of people Latkowski referred to as friends were the men in his church small group.
He stated this about them “These men have really helped me in my walk with God and helped to give me a really good understanding of what it’s like to live for God.”
This demonstrates just how friends can not only shape you as a person but impact your future and how you can react to certain news or issues.
All of this really helps to demonstrate how Latkowski is a very inspirational person and definitely somebody to look up to as a mentor. It is evident how his personality can help to handle certain situations with such gratitude and calmness.
Latkowski really is the definition of the American dream. He committed to serve in the Army at a young age, then continued to help serve the country and his community by working as a Firefighter/EMT in the West Bloomfield Fire Department. He is a good wife, father, and friend. But most importantly, in everything he does, he puts others and their needs above his own. All this just demonstrates him to be part of the American dream.
