Five illustrious HBCUs in the Palmetto State unveiled mentorship programs with the FBI field office in Columbia, South Carolina (FBI Columbia).
FBI Columbia announced the news earlier this week, and the mentorship program will be offered at Benedict College, Allen University, Claflin University, South Carolina State University and Morris College.
The FBI Columbia field office is launching its first Mentoring Program at Benedict College and other HBCU’s in the Midlands. More about the career offering program with @abc_columbia at 5pm, 6pm, and 11pm. pic.twitter.com/7gm4wjYgeN
— Lee Williams (@leewilliams93) September 15, 2022
“We have to be creative in the ways we engage young people,” C. Tillie, a community outreach specialist with FBI Columbia, said in the field office’s press release.
“It’s important that we create programs to facilitate communication and collaboration, while supporting the FBI’s commitment to diversity,” Tillie continued.
Dr. Roslyn Clark Artis, Benedict College’s president and CEO, also spoke positively of the new initiative.
“We applaud the FBI for moving in a direction to mentor possible candidates who are representative of their communities, especially if those communities are currently underrepresented,” she noted in FBI Columbia’s announcement. “Benedict students care about crime in their communities and want to be a part of the solution.”
This mentorship program is modeled after the FBI’s Beacon Project, which launched last year in Huntsville, Alabama.
“The purpose of the [Beacon Project] is to foster a genuine, long-lasting relationship between underrepresented communities and the FBI,” FBI Columbia notes in its press release.
We should also point out that, in addition to FBI Columbia’s brand-new HBCU mentorship initiative, it also offers a Teen Academy program, which “allows students ages 15-18 to get a comprehensive look into today’s FBI,” according to an announcement made earlier this year.
“Students will receive presentations on topics including terrorism, cybercrime, public corruption, polygraph exams, evidence response, SWAT, and other day-to-day FBI field office operations,” FBI Columbia writes of its Teen Academy program.
What do you think about FBI Columbia’s initiative with local HBCUs, and would you like to see similar programs with other federal law enforcement agencies in the future?
