COURTESY: INSTAGRAM
“Can I have y’all stop for one second?”
“Can I have y’all wait for one minute?”
“Alright, thanks for waiting.”
These familiar words from crossing guard Matt Jeslis have become somewhat of a catchphrase on the Ole Miss campus.
Jeslis wakes up a little before 7 a.m. every morning. He showers, gets his water bottle and packs some snacks before heading to campus. By 7:30 a.m. he is staked out at his crosswalk located between the Student Union and Barnard Observatory on Student Union Drive.
Clad in his navy polo, orange safety vest and khakis, he stays at work until 2 p.m. Monday through Friday. Once off work he heads home to exercise and spend time with his wife.
Jeslis is originally from the suburbs of Illinois. He attended Western Illinois University where he majored in law enforcement and justice administration with a minor in homeland security and management. Jeslis moved to Oxford this summer because his wife, Jenna, is in graduate school. She is here to study college student personnel.
Jeslis’ job is through Cobra Security, the company that is responsible for security in the Grove on game days, sorority and fraternity parties, directing traffic and other campus security concerns.
“You pretty much fill out an application, and, if they hire you, they put you wherever they have work,” Jeslis said. “It just so happened that they have this kind of permanent spot here, and I got to do that.”
Jeslis said his favorite part of his job the hours.
“I get off by 2 p.m. everyday and get all of the weekends off,” Jeslis said. “Nobody can complain about that.”
Jeslis has become somewhat of a staple for the university. About a month ago a student who prefers to remain anonymous started an Instagram fan page for Jeslis.
The account, @olemiss_crossingguard, now has over 1,000 followers. Students are able to direct message the account with pictures or videos of Jeslis that can then be posted on the page.
“My first reaction was that I thought it was funny,” Jeslis said. “I guess it’s just interesting and cool that I’m just a normal guy directing traffic that people think is Instagram worthy.”
Jeslis did not use Instagram before hearing about the account but made a profile in order to follow his fan-page.
The student behind the account said through a direct message they had the idea a few months before the account’s creation.
“I thought he would be a great candidate for the account because everyone knows who he is,” the account creator said. “He deserved some publicity for his work.”
Freshman nutrition and dietetics major Johnna Jordan said students feel safer because of the work Jeslis does.
“He definitely lives up to his Instagram fan account as the best crossing guard,” Jordan said. “He’s just so great at his job. I always feel safe crossing the road when he’s there.”
Jeslis admitted that the hardest part of his work is making sure that everyone gets where they’re going safely.
Working as a crossing guard is not the plan for the rest of Jeslis’ working life. Jeslis said he sees himself as a police officer with a family somewhere in 10 years. Jeslis is taking a step toward that direction.
today is Jeslis’ last day working at the crosswalk; Jeslis has accepted a police officer position in Arizona, and Monday will be his first day at his new job.
