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Your Vibe is Your Tribe

KRYSTAL ZEPEDA

By Gracie Bellissimo Story and Photography

If you’ve been through the Long Valley or Round Meadow gates, chances are you have had the pleasure of encountering Krystal Zepeda. Her vivacious spirit shines through the guard window with every person she encounters, whether it be a resident or a guest. “I can’t turn it off, I’m really this bubbly in real life, I’m happy all the time! And I have a great team too. My workers and my co-workers are completely the best.”

Krystal started working the night shift at the Round Meadow gate around six years ago as one of her three jobs, and has since been stationed at the Long Valley gate during the day. “Do you see my window? I see so many people nonstop. I’m meeting great individuals every day and I learn so much from all you guys.”

When she isn’t working to keep our community happy and safe, she also does armed security, as well as specimen processing and lab work in hospitals. She brings specimens, such as blood work and biopsies, to specific laboratories, working throughout several hospitals and forts for military airbases. She studied in school to be able to do this, and her interest in the medical field began with her father, who owns a courier company where they pickup surgery biopsies. Her father and brothers are all veterans in the army and navy, so Krystal was trained from when she was young through tactical training bootcamp. To this day, she still loves shooting guns with her dad in her freetime, as well as playing golf with him. She says golf and tennis used to “bore” her, but she now loves both and enjoys bonding with her father through them, and welcomes any golf pointers from residents and guests so that she can win against her dad!

An inside view of the gate operator’s station

Krystal also has a 9-year-old son, who she describes as “a bundle of joy…he’s literally just like me.” A selfproclaimed tomboy, Krystal and her son love to skateboard together, as well as practice martial arts and boxing. But the badassery doesn’t stop there, Krystal also loves cars, racing, and anything else sports related. Krystal genuinely adores working in Hidden Hills, and says her favorite part about working at the gate is meeting residents, describing how her natural bubbly energy is always reciprocated through the people she encounters. “You guys have all been great to me. I’ve never had a problem, I’m telling you. I love it here, I love you guys, you are all just so amazing. It’s really good coming to work when you have that type of energy every day.”

Just as she was describing this to me, as though right on cue, one of her regular guests handed Krystal a handful of freshly picked fruit through the window, to which Krytsal thanked them, and beamed to me, “See what I mean?!”