FBI Teen Academy opens Modesto student’s eyes

For all he knew, “I thought they were going to show us how to put in oil and brake fluid,” Enochs High School senior Joe Blair joked about his visit to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s auto shop in Sacramento last spring.

As it turned out, the experience was way cooler than that.

Attending the FBI Teen Academy with about 45 to 50 other students, Blair said he got to see a range of bureau vehicles, including a tanklike SWAT truck with 50-inch wheels.

Agents also talked about tools and techniques used to do such work as uncovering drugs hidden within suspects’ vehicles.

“We got to investigate vehicles to see if we could find drugs,” Blair said. “We could not find anything.”

“It showed what extent people go through to secret the drugs away where you won’t see them,” added Blair’s father, Tom.

Joe Blair couldn’t go into detail, he said, because the FBI wants students at this year’s one-day academy to have the same experience he did. And he didn’t want to get on the bureau’s bad side by spilling the beans.

Plus, he really liked the folks who led the academy, for which applications again are being accepted. “I was expecting a bunch of stiff, super-scary, intimidating FBI agents,” the 18-year-old recalled, “but they were really down-to-earth ... nice guys with families.”

This year’s Teen Academy will be held March 18 at the FBI’s Sacramento field office. The academy includes classroom discussion on a number of topics, such as the difference between freedom of speech and violation of federal law, the FBI’s domestic and international roles and the importance of making good choices when using social media.

“The social media portion was eye-opening,” Blair said. “I definitely learned a lot about how everything is public and can be seen by everybody, how anybody can get hold of the information you put out there.”

After learning what he did, “I deleted my Twitter, even – it was shocking.”

In addition to the auto shop visit, the academy’s hands-on experiences involve the FBI’s evidence response team and bomb technicians. Blair said he got a lesson on how to fingerprint a vehicle, and bomb techs detonated a blasting cap inside a paint can.

“That was really interesting,” he said. “It showed how a small explosive was really quite large.”

Students also got to put on a bomb suit, “which was heavy and hot.”

Blair applied for last year’s academy because he plans to study criminal justice in college and pursue a career in law enforcement.

“I thought it would be a good networking experience.” The academy experience led him to take an ROP program in criminal justice at Davis High School. “They have a class that’s just like the JC 101 class. I’m learning a lot.”

Blair said applying for the academy wasn’t difficult. It largely involved writing an essay. To anyone considering getting into law enforcement, he said, “anything you can do to put your foot in the door, take the opportunity to do so.”

Application packages are available on the “In Your Community” page of the FBI’s Sacramento field office website. Any high school junior attending a public, private, charter, or home school may apply by the deadline, Feb. 12, for consideration.

The academy is free, but families are responsible for other costs necessary to attend, such as transportation and any overnight lodging. Lunch and snacks are provided. Blair said the academy began at 7 a.m. and lasted until 4 or 5 p.m.

This story was originally published February 1, 2016 at 2:56 PM with the headline "FBI Teen Academy opens Modesto student’s eyes."