Liberty student trains at competitive FBI internship

Liberty University senior Josh Neubauer is gaining invaluable job experience working alongside Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents in Quantico, Va., one of several FBI training locations. He is serving in his second internship there this fall, after already completing one this summer.

Neubauer, a student in Liberty’s Helms School of Government, said his lifelong dream is to work for the FBI.

“My father has been in the FBI for almost 20 years, and I think he has influenced me greatly,” he said. “I was also surrounded by military and law enforcement families my whole life, so it was an easy decision for me to pursue law enforcement.”

During his summer internship, Neubauer attended several classes and workshops and was given a role in multiple simulated missions. He even got to shoot alongside FBI SWAT team (a division of the FBI) operators through a training course. In addition to combat training, Neubauer helped to streamline the FBI’s equipment ordering process, making it easier for agents to order and receive equipment.

While most of the experience at Quantico dealt with learning about firearms and tactical maneuvers, Neubauer also worked with the Mobile Surveillance Unit under the SWAT team, where he had the opportunity to fly a helicopter as well as learn about the different jobs available to him in the FBI.

“SWAT appeals to me, because it is the front lines of the law enforcement world,” Neubauer said. “I believe God has called me to be engaged at the front with complete dedication. My internship showed me that SWAT teams need people who fear God to lead them. SWAT is putting my life on the line to save others and that is what God called us to do for our brothers.”

Dr. Joel Cox, assistant professor of criminal justice/government, said that an internship with the FBI is one of the most prestigious internships available to students.

“There is a highly competitive process to obtain this internship; only a few of the most qualified students from universities across the nation are chosen,” he said. “It is an honor to have one of our students selected.”

Neubauer said he was able to apply the lessons he learned in his criminal justice courses throughout the summer.

“Career-wise I am excited, because putting an FBI internship on my résumé is huge,” he said. “I was able to connect with law enforcement because the issues they talked about were issues that I have talked and learned about in class.”

He hopes to work for the Mobile Surveillance Unit after graduating in May.