When JA eleventh grader Olivia Claire Williford began looking for summer internships, she never imagined she would end up in Quantico, Virginia at the FBI National Academy Associates’ Youth Leadership Program. The FBI Youth Leadership Program is an eight-day intensive program for 60 participants nominated for high academic standards and good citizenship.
Olivia Claire has always had an interest in the criminal justice system, so she knew this opportunity would be perfect to grow her leadership skills while helping her reach her ultimate goal of working in the FBI. While there, she learned about the FBI’s core values, how to set and achieve lofty goals, and what it means to be a good leader.
During the program, Olivia Claire and her peers began their day at 4:00 a.m. with physical training. After that, they attended leadership classes, firearms classes, and active shooter training. At the end of the program, Olivia Claire was chosen by her peers and the law enforcement committee to deliver the graduation commencement speech on behalf of all of her graduating class, referred to as Session 22 for being the twenty-second group of students to complete the program. She finished her commencement speech with a challenge for her peers, saying, “Session 22, let’s go change the world.”
