FBI heart hosts annual teen academy for native highschool college students

The FBI’s third annual teen academy, held Tuesday on the FBI’s Felony Justice Info Companies Division (CJIS) in Clarksburg, noticed over 80 college students from 30 space excessive faculties, together with eight from Monongalia County’s Morgantown and College excessive faculties.

“It’s a possibility for us to open up our doorways to the youth and what I think about our potential future leaders to present them an concept of what we do. There’s lots of people that know CJIS however don’t actually know what we do,” Scott Schubert, part chief of legislation enforcement engagement and knowledge sharing at CJIS.

“It’s vital that we get on the market and present that as a result of we’re right here in West Virginia, we’re part of the group.”

Schubert mentioned the scholars, who needed to apply to attend the academy, had been capable of get a first-hand take a look at the number of companies carried out on the facility in hopes of sparking curiosity in a profession in legislation enforcement and probably with the FBI.

“No matter their profession path could also be, there’s a possibility that they’ll come right here and serve the American folks by working for the FBI,” Schubert mentioned.

“When you concentrate on the FBI you consider simply the brokers within the discipline, however all of the work that’s carried out behind the scenes to assist our legislation enforcement companions, to assist maintain our communities – to assist maintain our nation protected, is completed proper right here in West Virginia,” he mentioned.

All through the day, college students had been uncovered to numerous features of CJIS together with an inside take a look at their biometrics division and IT division, in addition to talks with a member of the FBI SWAT crew and an FBI Police K9 officer.

College students additionally bought hands-on expertise with finger and footprint proof assortment, a simulated firearms demonstration, and heard from an FBI psychologist who talked in regards to the work carried out each nationally and internationally in one of many FBI’s latest divisions – psychology.

“They’re attending to see nearly each side of what we just do in order that they get a behind the scenes take a look at what it’s like,” Schubert mentioned. “Our hope is they arrive right here, they usually undergo, they usually get to listen to from totally different folks at CJIS that this is likely to be one thing they might need to do down the highway.”

The scholars’ causes for attending the academy various. Some already had an curiosity in a law-enforcement based mostly profession, whereas others had been there to discover their choices.

Arrington and Braylyn Sparks, twin sisters who’re presently seniors at Phillip-Barbour Excessive College, had been amongst those that already had an concept of what their futures would possibly seem like.

“We’ve all the time been excited by working right here, so attending to see what they do right here, and the totally different departments is admittedly particular and never everybody will get to do that,” Braylyn mentioned.

“It was tremendous informative,” Arrington added. “I type of had an concept that I needed to be right here once I was older, I simply wasn’t fully positive what I needed to do, so that is type of serving to me slender it down.

“There was quite a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff that I wasn’t conscious of … ,” she continued. “They talked about that the whole lot on the FBI is inside, like they repair all their very own issues … electrical energy, all that stuff.”

Bridgeport Excessive College senior Ben Bifano mentioned he didn’t have a selected curiosity in legislation enforcement coming into the academy however needed to attend “simply to be taught extra about what all goes on right here. I imply it’s actually proper in our city, proper in our yard and I’m not likely positive of each single factor that goes on right here, so I simply needed to be taught extra about it,” he mentioned, including that he could also be excited by an IT job sooner or later.

Schubert’s hope is the scholars who attended is not going to solely be taught from their expertise, but additionally take that have and information again to others.

“Once they come right here, they type of get to see behind the scenes,” he mentioned. “It’s not all the time what you see on TV. The folks within the discipline can’t do what they do with out the folks right here supplying quite a lot of the knowledge to assist them.”

The power hosts a number of sides of the FBI together with the Nationwide Risk Operation Middle, firearm background checks, biometrics, which Schubert mentioned is the spine of identification, in addition to the NCIC (Nationwide Crime Info Middle).

“Every thing information-wise is right here in West Virginia serving our whole nation and the world to some extent,” he mentioned.

One of many objectives of internet hosting the academy is to recruit native college students in an effort to “maintain them dwelling, maintain them native, and get right into a career the place you’re serving to to serve others and serving to to maintain our nation protected.”

The power plans to proceed internet hosting the annual academy which Schubert mentioned, “not solely provides the scholars an opportunity to see what’s being carried out at CJIS, however it is also a possibility for them to get their foot within the door.”