School Security Guards

The School Security Guards. Personally some of our favorite people in the school. There’s Jose Rivera, Zandra Smith, Greg Palmquist, Rob Wolmer and the School Resource Officer, James Mahoney. These five people are some of the nicest to the Hall students. But not everyone knows the guards as well as us, so we wanted to interview them to help other students get to know them as well as we do.

As a group, our goal was to interview all five of our schools Security Guards, but unfortunately, due to time constraints, we were only able to obtain quality interviews with Rob Wolmer and James Mahoney. Though the other three will be talked about.

Zandra Smith. Possibly the favorite Security Guard among the Hall students. Her kindness and overall attitude during the school day brightens up many students. You’ll never walk by Zandra without hearing her famous line, “How’s it going baby”.  

Zandra grew up in Hartford, Connecticut. When she was younger, she wanted to enroll in the Military. While this never happened, she has always felt passion for her country.

Many Hall students stated how much they love Zandra and the way she looks at things on a daily basis. Justin Searls said “Every morning when I get to school I sit in the cafe and am exhausted. Then at exactly 7:25 AM I will hear Zandra very enthusiastically yell to start heading to class, and that wakes me up and prepares me for the day.” Mr. Searls is not the only one who loves Zandra’s enthusiasm, from other students to faculty, no one has anything bad to say about Zandra.

Jose Rivera. Former West Hartford Police Officer of 21 years and current Hall Security Guard. This is Jose first year back at Hall after being the School Resource Officer here for five years from 2009 to 2013 and was a security guard at Conard for the next five years.

Like Zandra, Jose also grew up in Hartford. He aspired to be an airline pilot when he was younger, but this never worked out. He went to college at Bryant University where he majored in business. Almost directly out of college, he was hired by the West Hartford Police Department and worked with them for 21 years. After he left the PD, he transitioned into the School’s Resource Officer from 2009 to 2013, he then left for three years where he was a Security Guard at Conard and is now back here as a Security Guard.

This is Jose’s first year back so very few current Hall students know Jose, so we decided to ask a current staff member that knew him before he left and still is good friends with him currently, Joe Freda. Mr. Freda stated “Jose Rivera is the nicest person you’ll ever meet in your life, as a Police Officer, Security Guard, and a human being. He cares about everyone and would do anything for anyone.”

James Mahoney. Current West Hartford Police Officer and Hall High School Resource Officer. James has been at Hall for three year now.

Mr. Mahoney grew up in Bristol, Connecticut. When he was a kid, he “wanted to be rich” he said “but that didn’t really work out”. He went to Dean College where he graduated undecided and later attended Western New England University where he majored in Criminal Justice. When applying for jobs, West Hartford was his best option and he was apart of the Police Department. When asked if he enjoys working at Hall, he said “Yes, I like working at Hall. I’ve met some great people here”.

Officer Mahoney is the only School Resource Officer most current Hall students have had their whole High School Career. These past three years Mahoney has made many connections with people in the school. One person that knows Officer Mahoney pretty well is Brandon Beecher. Beecher shared with us one of his memories of Officer Mahoney that describes him best. “One day I was playing frisbee outside during my lunch period and I saw Mahoney patrolling on the golf cart. I yelled his name and threw him what I believe to be a dime, he would disagree, but that is just because he dropped a perfect pass. I think this memory would describe Mahoney well. He takes his job very serious, but he can still have great interactions with the students here at Hall.”

Rob Wolmer. Former Newington Police Officer of 21 years and current Hall High School Security Guard.

Rob grew up in Newington, Connecticut. When he was younger, he dreamt of being a police officer. He looked up to his father, who at the time was a police officer. He attended Southern Connecticut State University where he majored in Sociology. Prior to becoming a police officer, he student taught at West Haven High School. He stated, teaching was a good “back-up plan”.

We asked some Hall students their opinions on Rob Wolmer. Junior, Nolan Tiball stated “Rob’s the boy, he’s a really nice person and everytime I see him he will greet me and ask how I am doing. I think that it’s very important for school Security Guards to be able to bond with the students, and Mr. Rob Wolmer is very good at that.” Rob is a very well liked Security Guard by students and staff. He is good at his job and is focused when necessary, but he is always willing to get a good laugh or conversation in when he can.

Greg Palmquist. Former police officer and current school security guard. This is Greg’s second year at Hall after being a police officer in West Hartford for 22 years.

Greg grew up in Plainville, Connecticut. He went to the University of Connecticut where he majored in Psychology. While at UCONN, he played Division I baseball as a catcher. Unfortunately, he did not get drafted after playing for four year but was able to get invited to a tryout with the Cincinnati Reds. Again, he fell short and was unable to fulfill his dream of playing professional baseball. Oddly enough when we was younger he enjoyed playing football more than baseball, but since he was a better baseball player, he pursuit the sport through college.

“I see Greg Palmquist and his mustache at almost every sporting event I go to, and the ones I play in he will always talk to me before and after the game and tells me I did a good job. When I tore my ACL in football, I didn’t think Greg and I would have the same conversations we used to. I was wrong. Instead Greg would always come up to me and ask how I’m doing and ask about my recovery. I learned Greg is not here just to do the job and get paid, but he is here because he cares about the student’s.” Football player, Josh Onyirimba said, Greg Palmquist has made an impact on many students lives, not just Josh’s or other student-athletes. Greg is always around the school making sure nothing goes wrong, while also creating unforgettable bonds with many students.

While all of the Security Guards here at Hall have come from different backgrounds, they all share the love of this school and will protect the students at all times. The next time you see one of these Security Guards, we encourage you to go up to them and talk to them. They all have very interesting stories to share and you would benefit from hearing them.