Audio Transcript

Mollie Halpern: Dozens of teenagers from across the globe are now graduates of an intensive program at the FBI Academy on the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Virginia.

The FBI National Academy Associates Youth Leadership Program is designed to teach teens ages 14 through 16 about leadership through a law enforcement platform. 

Coordinator Bill Gardiner says law enforcement instructors pack the eight-day program with a strenuous schedule of academic and physical fitness goals.  

Bill Gardiner: We try to really develop the skills that they have but then we take them out of their comfort zone and force them, in a sense, to take a look at who they are, who they want to be, and recognize that they can accomplish great things. 

Halpern: Students must have high academic standards and good citizenship to be selected for this free program. 

Fifteen-year-old Lauren McDonough says the program was one of the best experiences of her life. 

Lauren McDonough: I’ve learned so much, not only from the academics but from being around so many different types of people. First of all, I learned how to be a leader. And what it means to be a good leader versus a bad leader. 

Halpern: Learn more at fbinaa.org. With FBI, This Week, I’m Mollie Halpern of the Bureau.