FBI’S MOST WANTED: COLLEGE GRADS
THE FBI 1$ LOOKING TO RECRUIT GRADUATES WITH A BACHELOR’S DEGREE
STORY AND ILLUSTRATION BY SAIGE KEIKKALA
Yet another fa n tastic opportunity for Clackam as
Com m unity College students happened for the first
time.
On W ednesday, A pril 6, the Federal Bureau o f
Investigation visited the college to open its doors
to students. If you are studying com puter science,
engineering, criminology, accounting, law, physical
science or language fluency, you are in luck. Especially
if you are in language, accounting or science.
The FBI wants you, but requirements are not for the
weak hearted. A bachelor’ s degree is necessary; three
years of full-tim e work experience inside the field of
interest and preferably be between the ages of 23-37.
Students also have to be a valid U .S. citizen and have
a driver’s license. New agent training takes place in
Quantico, Virginia.
“ It consists of classroom, practical exercises and
scenarios,” said Special Agent Masayo H alpin, who
headed the discussion and answered any of the students’
questions. “ We actually have a town in Quantico called
Hogan’ s Alley where we have actors come in and you
have to arrest them and react to them .”
Halpin and many other FBI agents agree that the worst
day in training is when a student is pepper sprayed in
the eyes and made to take down another opponent. Only
when the match finishes do they get water for their eyes.
The training lasts for 20 weeks and you are completely
cut off from the world. There is no communication to
family or friends for five whole months. Once in the FBI,
there is always danger. Agents enter a completely new
world o f constantly carrying a gun, willingness to use
deadly force and forced into being available at all hours.
To sweeten the pot, the entrance salary could be
$74,000. Clearance is a lengthy process with an extensive
background investigation, drug test, medical exam and
a polygraph.
“ B ecause everyon e has s o m e th in g ,” added
Halpin. “ And the whole point of it is secrets hurt you.
Because if you want to come work for the FBI and you
have a secret the FBI doesn’t know about, another
government can find out about it and they can use it
to blackmail you and that’s how ypu become a spy.”
Once the training and clearance is complete, trainees
are sent to any given location in the world without
approval or pre-disclosure. It could be in a resident
agency, a legal attache, or work as a special agent
depending on the chosen field or training.
“We used to have a joke in Quantico that monkeys
would throw darts at a m ap,” said Halpin. “ That’ s how
they would determine where you would be assigned. I
would want New York, you would want LA; but you’d
get New York and I’d get LA. It made no sense.”
Academic adviser Enrique Farrera came to the session
to learn how to inform students about the opportunity.
“ We have a lot of students interested in law enforcement
field and learning about how the FBI recruits students
or potential FBI agents helps me advise students w ell.”
Kara Leonard, who had organized the presentation,
mentioned meeting the FBI in a high school career fair.
Leonard said they, “ would be interested in coming out
and presenting an information session.”
If you missed this session and you’re still itching to
live the life of special agent Mulder and Scully from the
X-Files, don’t worry. This opportunity m ight present
itself again.
“ Yes. Possibly in the future, possibly w ith other
companies and other agencies,” said Leonard.
Cteckarnas P tid T APiilL 2t), 2016