Teen, Citizens Academy Graduates Pay It Forward as FBI Community Outreach Specialists
Program alumni building bridges between the Bureau and the people it serves
FBI community outreach specialists serve as ambassadors for the FBI. They forge partnerships with local, state, and national nonprofits, community groups, businesses, and academia to strengthen the Bureau’s relationship with the people it serves; and support our mission to protect the nation and uphold the Constitution.
They accomplish this by researching the things that matter to the people they serve and traveling to literally—and figuratively—meet community members where they’re at.
But outreach specialists also cultivate these relationships by inviting members of the public inside the world of the Bureau through the FBI’s Teen Academy and Citizens Academy programs. These selective programs give outstanding young people and adult community leaders, respectively, crash-courses in all-things FBI.
Some program alumni are so moved by their experiences that they pursue careers with the Bureau. Two such individuals—Teen Academy graduate Bella Crepeaux and Citizens Academy graduate Jay Mroszczak—are now paying it forward as the next generation of FBI community outreach specialists.
From serving his country to serving his community
Long before he became an official ambassador for the FBI Chicago Field Office, Jay Mroszczak was an Army soldier who aspired to become a special agent.
“As a matter of fact, when I was still on active duty in the Army with about 16 years of service in, I put in a packet for special agent," he said, noting that he made it all the way through the application process. However, he decided not to pursue the job and instead focused on his military career.
Years later, that calling found him again when his friends nominated the retired Army veteran to attend a Citizens Academy at the FBI Kansas City Field Office. Jay might’ve hung up his uniform by the time he was nominated to attend the FBI Kansas City Citizens Academy, but he was by no means finished giving back to his country and community.
Jay recalled being astounded by the professionalism of the FBI personnel who addressed him and his classmates each week.
“They were personable,” he said. “They never acted like we were an imposition on their time when questions were asked and they had to stay late.”
He especially loved the academy’s range day, when participants meet FBI firearms instructors and SWAT team members. “It very much reminded me of the people I worked with in the military,” Jay said.
Jay Mroszczak's Citizens Academy participation award
His experience with the course was so positive that it inspired him to join the FBI Kansas City Citizens Academy Alumni Association. This group is a local chapter of the FBI National Citizens Academy Alumni Association, an independent nonprofit that partners with the FBI on its outreach efforts.
"The alumni chapters work hand-in-hand with the field offices, and they participate in initiatives and events,” said Tracey Ballinger, a management and program analyst with the FBI’s Community Relations Unit, which oversees the Bureau’s Citizens Academy program. “And at the end of the day, they want to help further the mission of the FBI.”
Jay went on to become an officer with the Kansas City chapter before joining the National Citizens Academy Alumni Association’s board of directors. Then, “the opportunity came to go back to work for the federal government again, and I was putting in several applications to the FBI,” he said. He was soon invited to interview for a community outreach specialist position in Chicago.
The opportunity would capitalize on his passion for working with people—and seemed like fun, he said. His experience with the Citizens Academy program and its alumni network and his familiarity with the outreach specialist job also informed his decision to take the job.
“I just felt like I had a very good working knowledge of what I was getting into,” he said.
To his day, he said, he works to emulate the example of the community outreach specialist who steered his own Citizens Academy experience. “She was just a benchmark of what an outreach specialist should be,” Jay said, noting that he works to bring that same energy and hunger for learning when he works on programming for FBI Chicago.
Responding to tragedy is a more sobering part of the job description, but Jay says the power of the partnerships that these specialists build becomes crucial in these scenarios.
Jay is a firm believer in tapping into the power of the Citizens Academy network—both current participants and alumni—as proverbial community outreach reservists when crisis strikes.
And he’d know, since he serves as one of FBI Chicago’s crisis managers, and helped provide backup to the agents who investigated the mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois, last July.
Jay also praised the power of FBI Community Engagement Councils—which he said unite “community leaders from all the different various ethnic and religious communities”—to help ensure the flow of timely information between the Bureau and the public after crises strike.
This communication ensures communities know what steps the FBI is taking in the wake of a tragedy; eases their worries about aftershocks of violence; and educates them about how they can provide tips to the Bureau to aid investigations.
Jay said his primary advice to aspiring outreach specialists is not to be afraid to put themselves out there—even if you’re an introvert like he is.
Just being a part of something larger than yourself ... it keeps the adrenaline running and keeps you going.
Jay Mroszczak, community outreach specialist, FBI Chicago
He also stressed the importance of being reliable, dependable, and organized; and never making a promise you can’t keep. His advice for avoiding burnout in the wake of crises was similarly straightforward: Stay professional and get the job done. "Once the dust settles and everything’s over, then you can sit back and take a sigh of relief,” he said. “Just being a part of something larger than yourself and being a part of the team that’s investigating that and trying to take care of the people in the community, it keeps the adrenaline running and keeps you going.”
FBI Citizens Academy
The FBI’s Citizens Academy program, which began in 1993, aims to transform local leaders into ambassadors for the Bureau in the communities where they live and work. The program, which runs weekly over six-to-eight weeks, looks to foster a greater understanding of the role of federal law enforcement in the community through frank discussion and education.
Current Bureau employees, Citizens Academy alumni, and community leaders may nominate someone to attend a Citizens Academy program. The head of the hosting FBI field office then picks members of class from that pool.
Visit your local FBI field office’s homepage, then navigate to the Community Outreach tab, to learn how to nominate yourself or someone you know for a Citizens Academy near you.
Childhood dream turned reality
Bella Crepeaux took her first step towards a career with the Bureau as a high school student in 2016, when she applied to a Teen Academy hosted in her hometown of Portland, Oregon.
The Teen Academy program’s goal is to inspire participants to consider futures in law enforcement. In Bella’s case, it worked.
“We came, and we interacted with FBI agents,” she recalled of her Teen Academy experience. “We learned about the different threats the FBI covers. We did mock crime-scene investigation—just a whole wide range of things that I was really interested in at the time.”
After the weeklong Academy, Bella said, her dream of working for the Bureau was solidified, and her mind was made up.
Bella Crepeaux's Teen Academy graduation photo
She went to the University of Oregon—where she studied social science with a focus in crime and law—and applied for the Bureau’s Collegiate Hiring Initiative during January of her senior year.
After graduation, Bella began work as an operational support technician at FBI Portland. In this role, she handled tasks like answering phones and conducting background checks.
Next, she moved to the division’s white-collar crimes squad, where she assisted with casework and provided administrative support to investigations into violations like hate crimes, civil rights crimes, public corruption, and fraud.
Then, last year, she transitioned into community outreach—a move motivated by her desire to connect with and help people, including youth.
“I just deeply care about people,” she said. “And so “I think my ‘why’ is when I'm able to see these teens light up or get passionate about what they're learning about, or even more specifically about helping people. I see myself in them like from seven years ago when I was going through it.”
And reading through their application essays gives her an extra jolt of nostalgia. "I see myself in them and I see future leaders that care deeply about people,” she added.
She’s even getting to draw upon her own experience as a Teen Academy graduate to optimize future iterations of the program at FBI Portland. This year, for instance, she put a heavy emphasis on “hands-on crime-scene investigation” and interactive activities. “It's very full circle and it's very fun to be able to give back to the program that helped change my life and get me into where I am,” she said.
But her job description isn’t limited to working with youth—she also reaches out to diverse communities to build new or reinforce existing relationships between them and the Bureau.
So, what should a current or former Teen Academy participant do if they also dream of joining the Bureau?
First, Bella said, maintain the connections you cultivate during the academy. Those contacts can help vouch for your character and track record of interest in the FBI when you eventually apply for a job at the Bureau, she said. Next, she advised, seize every leadership opportunity you can.
It's very full circle … to give back to the program that helped change my life.
Bella Crepeaux, community outreach specialist, FBI Portland
And if someone aspires to become a community outreach specialist in particular, Bella suggests building a diverse network of community connections. This, she says, can serve as your proverbial portfolio when applying for the position.
Empathy, openness, and good communication skills are mandatory skill sets for the job, she added.
It’s crucial, she said, to hear out peoples’ stories—even if you don’t share common ground—and assure them that the Bureau is in their corner. “There are people who come from all different places in the world, and so you have to be able to listen to them,” she said.
FBI Teen Academy
The FBI's Teen Academy program is geared towards high school students. These academies use classroom-style instruction and demonstrations to immerse students in the world of the Bureau. They’re usually hosted at FBI field offices, and last anywhere from eight hours to one week in length.
Students are provided with several presentations on topics including terrorism, cybercrime, public corruption, polygraph exams, evidence response, SWAT, and the day-to-day operations of a typical FBI office. Students also learn from special agents, intelligence analysts, language specialists, and professional staff about investigative tactics that include gathering evidence, interviewing witnesses, and assisting with cases.
Unlike the Citizens Academy program, which is nomination-based, the Teen Academy program is application-based. Any student meeting their local field office’s criteria may apply to attend an academy session.
Visit your local FBI field office’s homepage, then navigate to the Community Outreach tab, to learn how to apply for a Teen Academy near you.
