One Caney Creek High School alumnus has achieved his lifetime goal: Becoming a Texas Ranger

After graduating in 2003 from CCHS, Chris Cash went off to Sam Houston State University to earn a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice. In early January, he became the newest addition to the Texas Rangers after previously being highway patrolman in Liberty County.

He will work out of the Beaumont Ranger office as part of Company A, which hold 35 southeast Texas counties. Growing up, law enforcement was a field that interested Cash.

“I grew up around police work and I think that influenced me to have that desire,” Cash said. “The adrenaline from chasing the bad guys attracted me as a teenager. My dad had friends who were in law enforcement so you get to watch their videos and the traffic stops and that really drew me to police work.”

Cash said becoming Texas Ranger is not easy, as it takes a lot of commitment and grind to even try and accomplish becoming Texas Ranger.

“You have to start out as a trooper to become a Ranger,” Cash said. “I joined DPS as a high patrol trooper in 2008 and the rules are you must at least have eight years of law enforcement and four has to be with DPS. So I spent about seven years on the road as a trooper and then I (was) promoted to narcotics in Houston for three years.”

With police work on popular TV shows, people like Cash get inspired and decide to pursue that career choice.

“Back in the day it was always ‘Cops,’ but when I was younger I would watch ‘CHiPs’ with my grandpa,” Cash said. “I still watch those shows today.”

Cash said kids that aspire to enter law enforcement should especially stay out of trouble, because “everything you do follows you.”

“I don’t know of a police agency out there that doesn’t do polygraph evaluations and psychology evaluations, so you can’t lie,” Cash said. “You can’t do these silly things as a kid and then decide to grow up and leave all of that behind.”

One has to be careful and not put work above what’s truly important, he said.

“You always have to watch out no matter what the job is, you can’t let it define you.”

Cash is finishing up his master’s degree in Criminal Justice Leadership and Management at SHSU.

“(This job) means everything to me,” Cash said. “I think it’s the greatest job in the world and sometimes my wife gets frustrated by how much I love going to work but she doesn’t.”