TSA’s Officer of the Year Hails from New York When Transportation Security Administration Officer Jovanna Mendez acts, she does so with conviction, compassion, customer service and dedication to duty in mind. “Officer Mendez is the type of TSA officer who others look to model,” says TSA Federal Security Director Dan Ronan. A resident of Eastchester, New York, and a TSA employee for the past 2 ½ years, Officer Mendez was just selected as TSA’s Officer of the Year for 2014 among the 45,000 TSA officers nationwide. TSA Officer Jovanna Mendez at work at LaGuardia Airport. She was named TSA Officer of the Year. (Photo courtesy of TSA.) Officer Mendez, a Master Behavior Detection Officer, spent time this year serving at both Westchester County (HPN) and LaGuardia Airports (LGA). She began her TSA career at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in mid 2012 before transferring to Westchester, where she worked from October 2012 through July 2014. She applied for a promotion to serve as a Master Behavior Detection Officer at LaGuardia Airport, where she has worked since August. “She is a role model to her co-workers and consistently raises her game to meet every security screening challenge at her airports, ensuring that the challenging job of security is conducted efficiently, effectively and with a tremendous eye toward stellar customer service,” says Assistant Federal Director Romero Iral, who worked with Officer Mendez at HPN. “Her positive and professional personality resonates well with both the traveling public and her co-workers.” One afternoon when Officer Mendez was working earlier this year, she realized that there would be a need for additional female officers working the late afternoon shift. The airport was expecting an influx of travelers attending a nearby national woman’s lacrosse tournament, so Officer Mendez proactively approached her manager and offered to stay well beyond her normal 4 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. shift at HPN to assist with the expected increase in passengers. It’s not everyone who would offer to work an additional shift after waking up so very early in the morning. But Mendez did. On a chilly February day earlier this year, while on a short break at HPN, Officer Mendez observed that a traveler was upset. She approached the woman who said that she was cold because she had no coat. Officer Mendez hustled outside to the parking lot where she had an extra coat in her car and handed her own personal coat to the woman for warmth. It’s not everyone who would offer their coat to a stranger. But Mendez did. On another occasion, she observed an elderly woman in the airport who appeared to be distraught, FSD Ronan explained. Officer Mendez approached the passenger and engaged her in conversation to see if that might help ease her anxiety. The woman was travelling alone and was apprehensive and unsure about the screening process and upcoming flight. Officer Mendez treated the passenger to a comforting cup of coffee and step-by-step stayed with the woman and explained the entire process from airline check-in to checkpoint screening to boarding the aircraft and what would happen during the flight. While on break, Officer Mendez then walked the elderly woman through the process and personally handed her off to the airline gate agent. Not everyone would take so much time with an unfamiliar traveler. But Mendez did. “These examples of selfless acts of kindness—offering to share her coat and buying a cup of coffee for a stranger-- that are truly extraordinary examples of human compassion,” FSD Ronan said. Last December, just two days before Christmas, during a very busy holiday travel period, Officer Mendez saw the checkpoint line of passengers at HPN had grown in a very short timeframe. “Without needing to be directed, she quickly initiated actions to open an additional screening lane, single-handedly gathered additional checkpoint bins and recruited some co-workers who were on break to assist her in opening the additional lane to get the travelers through the screening process,” AFSD Iral explained. “She took charge of the situation, inserted herself into the middle of the checkpoint to assist passengers divest their items and provided helpful instruction to passengers in terms of what they could do to expedite the screening process.” Not every TSA officer would demonstrate such tremendous leadership with their peers. But Mendez did. “Officer Mendez repeatedly has demonstrated genuine concern and respect for passengers and co-workers, all the while maintaining focus on the job at hand—ensuring that people can continue to travel safely,” Ronan says.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Nov 2014 02:48:14 +0000
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