Free to Talk! Chestnut Hill Resident, La Salle University Student Joe Baker Can Now Discuss His Summer Internship with the FBI in Washington, D.C.

“There are many aspects of my internship that I cannot discuss,” said Baker, who lives in Chestnut Hill and is a senior economics major.  When people have asked him about his experiences there, he says little.

This doesn’t surprise his mother, Sharon. “I have two brothers who are FBI agents, and they never talk about anything (related to their work),” she said. “Plus, I knew he wouldn’t be in dangerous situations and out in the field.”

What Baker can now tell his parents and others is that he worked in the bureau’s Finance Division as a member of the Business Process Re-engineering Team. "Essentially, the team's role is to identify and implement solutions to ensure the most efficient deployment of all financial and human resources," said Baker.“It was a role that I was drawn to as a student of economics -- a discipline which at its heart concerns choices amid scarcity.”

His uncles’ careers with the bureau wasn’t what that enticed Baker to seek an internship there. He learned about it last summer and the deadline for applying for it was in September, 2008. The chance to experience Washington, D.C. was a factor.  “As for the selection process, let's just say it was a bit intense,” said Baker.  Only 200 interns were selected out of a nationwide applicant pool of more than 3,000. His prospects were even more daunting, given that each field office sends only two interns to Washington, D.C., and the Philadelphia field office had a large applicant pool.

After submitting an application, Baker was invited for an interview with agents at the FBI’s Philadelphia office in late October. “After that, all I could do was wait until I found out if I had been selected,” he said. “I finally received word in late December that I had made the cut, then had to pass a full background investigation, including a polygraph examination and a drug test, to receive my clearance to work.”

“It was thoroughly enlightening to see how a government agency operates financially, and how the principles of economics -- most often applied to profit-driven firms -- operate in an organization concerned with much more than its bottom line, yet constrained by the realities of a yearly budget,” said Baker, who was graduated from Bishop McDevitt High School in Wyncote.

Baker, who is President of the St. Thomas More Pre-Law Society at La Salle and Vice President of the Student Economics Association at La Salle, had planned on attending law school after graduation, but the experience in Washington changed his plans.

“This summer convinced me that law school was not the right path for me,” he said.  “It’s still an option for the future, but I realized that I am ready to enter the real world, and there were many opportunities for me to pursue a career in public service right out of college. My most likely path will be finding a job doing economic research and analysis for a government agency in Washington and working toward my masters in economics.”

“In the long run, I'd love to apply to be a special agent with the FBI, but in the short term, I'd like to focus on further developing my economics background and analytical ability through graduate school and work in the public sector.”

His mother said she’s not too worried about him becoming an FBI agent, but as she told her husband, her two brothers love their work at the FBI, and her son will be doing something she knows he’ll love to do.

Baker lived in an apartment in Arlington, Virginia, that he shared with three other FBI interns. According to his mother, he also learned some important lessons outside of bureau work.

“He had to do the cooking on his own, getting up and out of house every day; it was a whole other life,” she said. Her son commuted to La Salle for his first three years but will live on campus this year. “Now that it’s over with, he knows he ready for the real world, which is totally different from the college experience.”

As for his collegiate experience, Baker has achieved quite a bit.

“Joe is an exceptional student in our Honors program,” said David Robison, Chair of La Salle’s Economics Department.  “He is carrying a 4.0 GPA.  He took two courses with me and was probably the top A student in each course.  He has excellent writing skills and is a tremendous speaker.  I honestly don't see any weaknesses with Joe.   On top of everything else, he is a good person: he treats others with respect, listens to their opinions -- even when those opinions are a bit wacky-- and is willing to engage others in debate without attacking them as people.”