Imagine being constantly on call for cases ranging from local white-collar criminal investigations to potential serial killer cases. That is the everyday life of an FBI agent who recently visited and spoke at CHS.
Mike Rollins is a supervisory senior resident FBI agent who works at the Vancouver and Olympia offices in Washington State. He has been in the FBI since June of 1999 and was first assigned to the FBI’s office in Chicago until he was later transferred.
FBI agents dedicate a lot of time to their work, and that can have an impact on families when they are constantly leaving all the time. Daughter of Mike Rollins and CHS senior Elizabeth Rollins says, “He had to leave during a theatre show that I was doing. He was a backstage dad. There was a robbery, and police needed backup, so he had to leave in the middle of that show. I mean that kind of hurt me, but I grew up with it.¨ She adds,¨He helps people that need help so, I think it is okay.¨
“The FBI was not my first career choice,” Rollins says. “I went to college with the desire to fly planes in the air-force. That didn’t work out for me because of my vision, I didn’t pass the vision test for the air-force at the time,” explains Rollins. “So I went into law enforcement in the air-force. I spent six years in the air-force, and I ended up in the FBI because my wife suggested I apply there.”
Although many tend to believe the FBI is made up of mostly field agents such as Rollins, there are many different positions associated with being in this government organization. “There are over twice as many, what we call professional support employees, then there are actual special agents,” Rollins states. There are other positions like auto mechanics, electronic technicians, secretaries, and nurses, to name a few. “If you think of it, we probably have it in the FBI because we try to keep everything internal because of the work that we do.”
Senior Kenadee Cuff says, “I took forensics with Mrs. Coker last year and absolutely loved it. Many of the stories he told were similar to what we learned. However, I was not aware of how broad the FBI was.” She also thought it was interesting to learn about how many different jobs there are in the FBI and “how many people of different backgrounds can come together to protect our country.”
“I think it’s really important for students to get an understanding of the career field that they might be interested in,” Amira Onuoha says. “We depend on the media to inform us correctly, but when you realize when you hear from someone in that field, it sometimes is the opposite.”
Keep watch for more guest speakers to come to CHS in the upcoming months.