Spring Break
Secret Service visits campus
Ashley Peskoe
Issue date: 2/1/08 Section: News
Three secret service agents spoke to Drexel students Jan. 31 at the Criminal Justice Program and the College of Information and Technology's secret service career forum.
The special agents Brien Graveline, Michael Sullivan and Kelly Fincher, provided students with an informational session on what the secret service is all about and informed them of the hiring process.
Graveline, Sullivan and Fincher discussed the history of the secret service, training, weapons of choice, agents' responsibilities and past cases.
A common question that the agents get from students is, "how you could take a bullet for someone else," according to Graveline.
"[The] object is for nobody to get shot … [that is the] object of all this preparation, all this training," Graveline said.
Fincher said of her fears going into the secret service was the physical standards of shooting. However, the secret service provided all of the training necessary and she no longer fears shooting, Fincher said. All agents receive six to seven months of training.
Upon entering the secret service, you can either go in as a uniformed division officer or as a special agent, according to Graveline. To be a uniformed division officer, you must be at least 21 years old and have a four-year degree in a technical background, accounting, computer science, law enforcement, criminal justice or a language. Professional experience is almost necessary to become a special agent, and there is "consideration to people highly skilled," Graveline said.
David Hangley, a fourth year criminal justice major, said he was expecting to learn about opportunities in federal law, and all his expectations were met at the forum.
Although it is highly unusual to graduate college and immediately become a special agent, you still "have to set goals and you have to be realistic about those goals," Graveline said. "We don't demand perfection - we demand honesty."
Jack Maxwell and Julia Hall, both professors in the Department of Culture and Communication, coordinated the event, after contacting the secret service in September and October of 2007.
This is the second year the secret service has come to Drexel, and Maxwell said he hopes to make it an annual occurrence.
The special agents Brien Graveline, Michael Sullivan and Kelly Fincher, provided students with an informational session on what the secret service is all about and informed them of the hiring process.
Graveline, Sullivan and Fincher discussed the history of the secret service, training, weapons of choice, agents' responsibilities and past cases.
A common question that the agents get from students is, "how you could take a bullet for someone else," according to Graveline.
"[The] object is for nobody to get shot … [that is the] object of all this preparation, all this training," Graveline said.
Fincher said of her fears going into the secret service was the physical standards of shooting. However, the secret service provided all of the training necessary and she no longer fears shooting, Fincher said. All agents receive six to seven months of training.
Upon entering the secret service, you can either go in as a uniformed division officer or as a special agent, according to Graveline. To be a uniformed division officer, you must be at least 21 years old and have a four-year degree in a technical background, accounting, computer science, law enforcement, criminal justice or a language. Professional experience is almost necessary to become a special agent, and there is "consideration to people highly skilled," Graveline said.
David Hangley, a fourth year criminal justice major, said he was expecting to learn about opportunities in federal law, and all his expectations were met at the forum.
Although it is highly unusual to graduate college and immediately become a special agent, you still "have to set goals and you have to be realistic about those goals," Graveline said. "We don't demand perfection - we demand honesty."
Jack Maxwell and Julia Hall, both professors in the Department of Culture and Communication, coordinated the event, after contacting the secret service in September and October of 2007.
This is the second year the secret service has come to Drexel, and Maxwell said he hopes to make it an annual occurrence.
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