This is part of the Willistonian Interview-a column where Nate Gordon interviews different Williston faculty, staff, and students.

by Nate Gordon ’16

Stephen Molloy wants Williston students to know that the security officers at Williston are highly trained and that students shouldn’t be afraid to approach and talk to them. In his free time, Mr. Molloy is a fisherman, hunter, and photographer.

Nate Gordon: How did you get the position of Security Officer at Williston?

Mr. Stephen Molloy: I applied a while back, actually for a housekeeping job and I was offered this job because I have a lot of experience in security work, working at Greenfield Community College. I was a security officer there. And I went to the police academy also, so they thought I had better do the security work than the housekeeping stuff. Which is fine by me, I prefer it.

NG: What are the main tasks of a security officer at Williston?

SM: We’re here to take care of the student body and faculty. We’re basically what you would call the first line of defense here for strangers. Anybody who’s not happy with something can come to us and tell us what’s going on.

NG: What is the best or your favorite part of the job?

SM: I would say my favorite part of the job is working with the students. And, you get that “thank you” from the students and the parents every once in a while, which makes the job worthwhile.

NG: So in what ways do you work with the students or interact with them?

SM: Myself, I kinda like joke around with everybody, I make myself approachable, because that’s what I prefer, I don’t need anyone to be afraid of me.

NG: What is the hardest part of your job?

 SM: Hardest part is, I would say, just with the financial problems with the country now, it’s just getting equipment stuff like for the department, it just makes it kinda tough to do our jobs sometimes.

NG: What is the strangest situation you have been in as a security officer?

SM: I think it would just be sometimes you run into students who aren’t using their heads and I’m just like, “Hey, how you doing?”

NG: What does a typical day look like for you?

SM: Typical day is getting a lot of phone calls from the students about being locked out [of their dorms.] A lot of that kind of stuff. The school itself is a good, safe school so we don’t have a lot of strangers on campus. Which is good, I think it’s because they see us all the time.

NG: With the recent discussions of gun control, especially at schools, what is your opinion on this for Williston?

 SM: I think the way we’re working it is fine, we do need something to protect us guys, since we’re the first line of defense so we’ve been working on other stuff like pepper spray to protect ourselves. But, there is no real reason to have a weapon or gun like that.

NG: When you’re not a security officer what kinds of things do you like to do in your free time?

 SM: In my free time, I’m usually a fisherman, hunter, and very big into photography, so you’ll see me on campus with my camera, taking pictures.

NG: What are some things you think Williston security could improve on?

 SM: I would say communications with a lot of the faculty just helps sometimes. Other than that things work pretty smoothly.

NG: Is there anything else you would like the student body to know about security at Williston?

SM: That we’re, most of us are highly trained. I am because I’ve been through the police academy so I’m ready for just about anything. And that students don’t have to be afraid to come up and approach us, we’re not gonna bite.