You pass by dozens of yellow jackets scattered across the area surrounding USC every day. But do you ever wonder what their typical day is like?
The university contracts “security ambassadors,” commonly referred to as “yellow jackets”, because of their bright-colored attire. They patrol nearby communities within a 2-and-a-half-mile radius around the USC campus. However, we hardly ever know any detailed information about them. Yixuan Chen went to their stationed areas to find out more.
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Zaire Brown is a security ambassador. She guards different gates depending on the day. She is guarding the west side of campus and tells us about the typical duties of a yellow jacket.
We guard the perimeter of the campus and we have some who guard the student housing is off-campus to make sure that students are safely going to and from school and also going safely to work to home to the house. And my job is to secure this gate right here.
The duties of the security ambassadors focus on the safety of students, especially if students face a dangerous situation. They act as a bridge between students and DPS during an emergency.
In dangerous instances, Yolanda Randall says yellow jackets will connect to DPS and supervisors for more serious help.
That’s the whole point of my job of me being a security guard here is to help whatever that there need this to fulfill the needs of the students and make sure that they are safe.
Shannon Fields is a shift supervisor for the yellow jackets.
If they come to us and say hey, I’m hurt, and I can’t get there. We’ll use our radios to say. DPS, we have this student here that can’t get to the other side of campus. Can you come in assist? So basically, we’re just helpers of DPS.
Yolanda Randall explains another one of her duties.
I am a traffic coordinator which I control the traffic and which way everybody goes which way the cars go. So I try to keep everybody safe so that we will have no accidents and nobody gets hurt.
Zaire Brown says sometimes, there are some sweet moments between the yellow jackets and students.
When we first started this job, they gave us a map so we can help the students navigate. And I helped this one girl find her music class. And like every time I see her, we have this like the little inside joke about the music class.
Yolanda Randall says she understands how difficult life is for the homeless and feels a purpose in helping them.
That’s something memorable for me because I was once there homeless. So that’s what I remember most of our story that I have to share something that I didn’t have before with somebody else has wanted something that I have gone through.
Supervisor Shannon Fields’ motivation is to provide for her children.
I don’t know because it’s a lot of other people that don’t have kids. This is probably something for them to do just on a daily basis or, you know, or they have families to provide for. So basically what we use is just to make sure we provide for our families. So that’s my drive, my family.
Ms. Hernandez is another supervisor. As a local resident who was born and raised in this area, she has a passion for helping people.
being part of USC was a great opportunity to, you know, provide great customer service and help the students you know, make sure everybody gets home safe. That was the big part, like of me wanting to work for the, for the school, and is just, you know, I do enjoy being security and helping others.
Next time a yellow jacket helps you find your way to class, remember to thank them/ for their service in helping to keep campus safe for all.