Security with a Smile
A Ride-Along with Amy Porterfield
By Greyson Gurley
Sporting a large bomber jacket inscribed “SECURITY”, Amy Porterfield greeted me with a smile and a friendly “Hi nice to meet you” tinged with a Georgian accent. Amy Porterfield is one of Southern Virginia University’s security guards on campus. After polite introductions, she welcomed me into the security office and immediately invited me to look at her large computer monitor system, “a necessary look inside the ongoings of SVU’s security”, she informed me. The monitor shows a comprehensive view of everything happening on campus all at once. From the computer screen, Amy can see students milling about and the daily campus activities, ranging everywhere from the Stoddard Center to The Lofts. However, watching the computer monitor is only a small part of her security duties.
Amy’s workday is always systematic; she starts with one outlet and moves to the next when she knows that she has garnered every piece of information that a security officer would need. She begins by checking the Knight App. While scrolling through the different chats, she tries to get a feel for what is currently happening on campus. When asked if she is looking for anything in particular, she replied, “I am looking to see if there is anything that would be of concern to anyone’s safety.” After informing herself by way of the app, Amy then scans the cameras from her computer, again checking to see that everyone is safe and there are no threats to safety.
A large part of Amy’s job is doing patrols. This means driving around all of campus and routinely walking through on-campus housing. When accompanying her on the patrol, she took me to every inch of campus, and checked out each location for any suspicious activity. She indicated that she was looking for a myriad of things including up-to-date parking tags, unfamiliar faces or cars, locked-out students, or inappropriate student activities. After securing the perimeter of campus, she then patrolled each on-campus dorm facility on foot. Amy went up and down every hallway of every floor to make sure she knew every face and that everything was under control. I got to see firsthand how seriously she takes students’ safety and how much she enjoys her job. She takes pride in keeping this campus safe and secure for students and faculty alike.
When asked what her favorite part of her job was, she said, “Interacting with the students, I like to know the students and be their friend.” During the patrol of The Lofts, Amy interacted with every student we passed. She asked them how their day was and how they were doing, often referring to something from a past conversation. She even admitted that many of the students invite her to play video games or try to get her to dance. She seems to be quite popular with students, and for good reason. Amy goes above and beyond the normal scope of a security officer through her interactions with students. During the patrol at The Lofts, a student needed help jump-starting their car, and she obliged. While helping with the car, she noticed a nearby injured student and offered to give them a ride to campus after she was finished with the car. When asked about Amy, the injured student, replied, “[Amy] is so thoughtful and patient, and she never judges.” It appears that Amy is much more than a security guard to the students that know her. She truly has made relationships with the students she has been entrusted to take care of.
Amy not only loves the students, but as a native “Buena Vistian”, she cares for Southern Virgini and the community it creates in Buena Vista. Amy became a Buena Vista local in 1986, when her family moved here from Lagrange, Georgia. Amy describes her childhood with a wistful air. She remembers when Southern Virginia was Southern Seminary and described the antics she would get up to as a kid. “We would get chased by the security guards while playing hide and seek.” Amy is now that security guard, but she has not lost any of her playfulness. She brings joy to her job and the people she interacts with. As the patrol came to a close, Amy pulled into her security parking spot outside of Main Hall. She put the car into park,and I expressed my thanks for letting me interview her; she just smiled and said that she loves interacting with students in any way possible. We hugged goodbye, and I left knowing that Amy Porterfield is not only a security guard but a friend to the students of Southern Virginia.
