Marketing students bring the FBI to campus

Thrill-seekers and investigative types rejoice -- the FBI is coming to Hopkins, thanks to the efforts of a group of business-minded students. Sponsored by Professor Leslie Kendrick and the FBI Collegiate Marketing and Recruitment program within her Advertising and Promotions class, this semester-long project is coming to full-blown fruition on Wednesday, April 19, when students in the class will be hosting a promotional event about the FBI.

"We're trying to increase FBI recruitment on campus and to increase general FBI awareness," junior Preeti Mehta, a student in the class, said.

Junior Kirsten Gage, another research team member, hopes to give her peers a new perspective. "I think the event will surprise a lot of Hopkins students because they will learn about what the FBI can offer to them as an employer and not as this agency that protects the nation," Gage said.

The class has involved preparations for this event -- the students created their own marketing agency, Five One Six, which runs in the same collaborative manner that a professional agency would. The 27 students in the class split into various departments.

Though Kendrick set up the framework and arrangements, the majority of the project responsibilities have been under the students' control, with some guidance from Kendrick and from EdVenture Partners, a program with the purpose of matching up university classes with big-time industries for cooperative programs.

For this branch of the program at Hopkins, the students are working closely with EdVenture representative Lesley Eberts. She approves everything created by the class before they continue on.

This process can be a challenge, as senior Isabelle Corbett, a student in charge of public relations, noted. She said that there were times when the students' work was sent back to them for revisions.

The months of doing research, conducting focus groups, collecting student opinions and creating a plan of action will finally pay off this Wednesday, when the students host their major promotional event at the Levering Quad from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event will feature various FBI-related demonstrations, like a polygraph machine and Special Agents available to answer questions.

There will also be barbecue-style food available and contests offering various prizes.

Aside from offering an entertaining afternoon respite, the students involved in the program believed that with events like this, they are meeting their recruitment goals. "We're trying to help attract highly qualified candidates [for FBI jobs]," Corbett said. "Hopkins is a good place to do this."

As part of the research team, Mehta has specific goals. "Numerically, we want to have about 20 applications generated."

Computer nerds and science experts take note -- the recruitment program is looking for students who have a variety of technical skills and a background in engineering. People who are fluent in particular languages, ranging from Chinese to Arabic, have the potential to become involved in the FBI as well.

It's agreed by the students that the lessons they've learned from this assignment are less about how to join the Federal Bureau of Investigation and more about how to successfully market an idea to a large, diverse group.

Mehta cited that this opportunity is something that has given her valuable experience in the field. "I was able to take a leadership role within the agency, and I was even able to moderate a focus group in an actual facility, which is something I don't think many college students can say," she said.