STT Security Officer Esther Martinez has been selected for this month’s Employee Spotlight! Officer Martinez has been recognized by her supervisor for her outstanding commitment to her role:
“Esther Martinez has been one of the best people to ever work for STT. She is always willing to help improve the work environment not only for the staff, but also for the clients we serve. Whenever there’s a problem, she’s always there to help find a solution. There is no task too big for her to handle, even when I’m away from the office. She has a great relationship with the local police officers we work with, and she has made several suggestions to help improve the safety of guests and staff at our work sites. The clients have given us nothing but positive feedback about Esther. She absolutely deserves to be recognized for her tireless work here at STT.”
– Capt. John Hedges
Join us in thanking Officer Martinez for her exceptional work and congratulating her on this award! Get to know Esther by reading our brief interview with her below:
Tell me about yourself:
I like to play video games, watch TV and movies – that kind of stuff! I really like horror video games – the main one I’m playing right now is called Phasmophobia. My favorite kinds of TV shows are any first responder shows and adult animation like Family Guy.
When did you begin working for STT?
I started working here in August of 2017. I was hired in to [site location] by the current supervisor. When I started, there was a lot more manual work to do, like filling out logs for patrols. Now, it’s as easy as bumping a phone up against a tag on the wall. COVID made things interesting because we went from being busy, busy, busy, to having literally nobody in the mall. Although, things have started to go back to normal lately; we’re starting to see a lot more people again, which I prefer because it helps time go by.
What drew you to security work?
Quite honestly, I was asked “hey, would you like to work for us?” I said sure, why not? The security field definitely has its ups and downs. Some days I’m like, “wow, this is really cool that I do this for a living.” Other days, I can’t wait to leave and get home. But I assume it’s like that with all jobs, so I’m thankful there are good days here!
What do you like about working for STT?
I really like working with the people I work with. We generally have a good time and good conversations while we work together. You get to see new faces while patrolling [the mall], you get to meet a bunch of regulars who get to know you and you get to know them. Every day is a new day and something different; you just never know what you’re going to deal with when you go into work. COVID made things very stagnant for a while, but now things are going back to how they were before. And now, too, we have a couple new restaurants opening nearby which are bringing in a lot of new people. There are lines running all the way through the mall for one place, and for another, they’ve had to close early a few times because they’ve sold out all their food.
What does an average day of work look like?
I start with a patrol and greeting the people I know around the mall. Normally, things are fairly calm, but every once in a while, we will get someone who makes a scene. For example, there’s occasionally homeless people who will wander into the mall and create issues with people who are shopping. Most of them are nice people, but every once in a while, we’ll get someone really mean!
