May 11, 2025 • 35 mins
1st segment: Amber Banda interviews the FBI about their 2025 FBI Teen Academy with guests Special Agent in Charge John Morales and Acting Community Outreach Specialist Alex Bustillos. Deadline to apply is May 16 at 5pm MST. For more information go to FBI.gov/EPoutreach.
2nd segment: Amber Banda interviews Jill Brewster, Development Manager for the El Paso Young Women's Prepatory Network. They have 2 schools in the YISD and EPISD district, (Young Women's Leadership Academy and Young Women's STEAM Academy, respectively), and enrollment is open! These are FREE schools for women geared towards preparing them for college. Find them on social media for more information.
2nd segment: Amber Banda interviews Jill Brewster, Development Manager for the El Paso Young Women's Prepatory Network. They have 2 schools in the YISD and EPISD district, (Young Women's Leadership Academy and Young Women's STEAM Academy, respectively), and enrollment is open! These are FREE schools for women geared towards preparing them for college. Find them on social media for more information.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to ol Paso Public Forum, a weekly half hour
public affairs presentation of iHeartRadio El Paso for over twenty years,
featuring local news and interviews of interest to our listeners
in West Texas and southern New Mexico. All views and
opinions expressed on this program are those of the host
and guest, and not necessarily those of iHeartRadio Management and
now El Paso Public Forum.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Welcome back to the al Paso Public Forum. I am
your host, Amberbanda, and today we have Jill Brewster. She
is the development manager for ol Paso Young Women's Preparatory Network. Jill,
thank you so much for being here with me today.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
Thank you for having me. I'm happy to be here
and talk on behalf of the network.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Of course, you look wonderful. I heard you dressed up
for me, so I'm very glad. I feel like maybe
I should have done some little more with my hair. No, no,
you're awesome. Thank you. So we're talking today about the
Young Women's Preparatory Network and there's two schools that fall
under that. But I'm going to let you explain a
little bit more about what this network is.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
Jill, sure things. So there are two incredible schools here
in Olpaso that are members of the network. So the
Young Women's Preparatory Network is a nonprofit. The home bases
in Dallas. It's a statewide nonprofit with twelve schools across
the state that they support. So it's a little bit
of an interesting partnership. It is a nonprofit that partners
with public schools and all of the schools are single
(01:23):
gender schools that support girls that are typically from a
lower socio economic status. And some of the times there
are students that are going to these schools that are
going to be the first generation in their family to
graduate from high school.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
And a lot of times it's also girls that are
going to be the first generation in their family to
go to college.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
That's amazing.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
Ye.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
This Young Women's Preparatory Network. The two schools that are
involved that are a part of this network. Why specifically
these two schools are not other public schools.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
So the network actually they've been around since two thousand
and two, it's been they've been around for a while
and slowly grown around the state. So they actually do
their own recruiting and looking into schools that would be
a good fit, and so they reach out when they
see a school that is an all girls school typically
(02:17):
six through twelfth grade, that's what our two local schools are,
and reach out to find out more and learn more
about the school culture, about the rigorousness of the of
the curriculum, about the staff, about the principal, and about
the population of the students that are attending the schools.
And when they feel like it's a good fit, they
work with the school district. So locally we have they
(02:38):
work with EPISD and also YID to create an MoU
that you know, lays out their partnership and that's the
beginning of it. So once they find a school now
that now there's twelve across the state, then they really
invest in those schools in all different ways. Financially, they
invest they invest in pfessional development for the administration at
(03:02):
that school and for the staff. And there's a lot
of benefits to these schools joining the network. They get
to join in and have alumni services for their alumni. There's
internship help, there are career connections, all kinds of different
things come with the school joining the network.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
Ah, that makes sense because one of the schools that
you're talking about, see when I initially got the email,
Hey do you want to interview Jill Brewster, you know,
the development manager of Apostle Young Women's Preparatory Network. My
mind immediately went to WILA, the Young Women's Leadership Academy.
So that is one of the two schools that's part
of the YID District. And I know it's a free
school for girls specifically six through twelve, and my daughter
(03:44):
went there for a couple of years, my oldest hopefully
fingers crossed my second one, you know, she's barely going
into fifth grade, she has one more year. But I
was like, they do all these amazing things, but it's free. Yes,
So I'm like, well, how do they fund? You know,
do the girls just saw that many chocolate bars? And
does this answer my question? The Young Women's Preparatory Network,
they're the ones that help to you know.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
Yes, well, I mean these two schools. So locally, we
have the Young Women's Leadership Academy, which you're familiar with,
a fantastic school in d and we also have a
brand new member to the network that just joined this year.
In EPISD we have the Young Women's Steam Academy. Both
schools are all girls schools from six through twelfth grade.
They are free public schools. They are funded from their
(04:26):
school districts. Additional funding does come through the network, and
that's also my job as the development manager. I'm part
of the network, but my position is here to find
grants for them, fundraising events, community outreach like today, being
able to come in and talk to you and let
the community know that we're here. And so it's just
(04:49):
but most of their funding does come from the school districts.
They are still falling under those districts. And it's funny
that you say what you said because a lot of
times I don't know if it's because the word academy
is in the name, or our students do wear uniforms,
but there's a misconception that we are a private school
or that parents have to pay. That's not the case
at all. You do have to apply, just like you
(05:10):
would to any type of magnet school. But both schools
are accepting applications from within and outside of their districts
right now for the twenty five twenty six school year.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Okay, so, and they will.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
Work with students on transportation and the application though there
is one, it's very simple, it's very easy. So I
would not want anyone to not apply just because they
heard the word application.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Yeah, so initially again that was also one of my things,
is oh, apply unless you might not get accepted. And
I wasn't sure if it did have to have a
cost to it, and like you said, no, it's free.
My daughter went there for two years. I called it
the Hogwarts of all Passo because it's like it was
really cool because I remember at one point at Wila
my daughter went and the parent teacher conferences they were
(05:53):
more like student teacher conferences. They're student led. And so
you know with Wyla, I'm not sure about the Young
Women's Steam Academy any and hear about that one until
you walked in the door. But with Whilave, you know
it is a college preparatory school, yes, and so is
the other one as well, a class.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
They are so similar, just in two different districts.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
In two different districts. So what makes a college preparatory
school different from than just a public school or I
don't want to say just but you know, but what
is the difference?
Speaker 3 (06:20):
Sure? Well, I mean one one thing that then both
the network and the two local schools can all boast
is that they have one hundred percent high school graduation rate,
which is amazing, and that is so currently if you
take both schools, that's about seven hundred and fifty girls
in our community that are on that track to graduate
from these schools, you know, from six through twelfth grade.
(06:42):
But so the college prep piece is that they really
start in middle school with the girls introducing and having
them enroll in pre ap courses, meaning that they've already
finished those requirements so that when they are in high school,
they're taking ap courses which gives them college credit. And
so they're going in to college sometimes as a sophomore
(07:05):
or already having some classes under their belt that are
college level. And that's really important. Not only do both
schools have one hundred percent high school graduation rate, they
also have one hundred percent of the graduating classes have
been accepted to at least one four year college.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Oh wow, And anyone missed the headline there that save
you money fair college.
Speaker 3 (07:25):
Yes, so Bury the lead, but I think that's really
important too. I have a daughter that goes to YWA.
That's the that's what we call the EPISD versus so
the Young Women's Team Academy. I usually call it y
w A, and then we've got WYLA for YID. I
know it's a lot of whyse but so my daughter
is a freshman at YWA. She started there in seventh
(07:46):
grade when we moved to El Paso, And I was
just having a conversation yesterday with my husband talking about
college visits, which we're a little bit away from that,
but I know it's going to be here soon. And
there are so many things that these schools do that
some of the more traditional high schools just aren't able
to because there are so many more students there. So
I do feel like they have us. I mean, the
(08:08):
class sizes are smaller, and you get more one on
one time and with your teachers, which makes a huge
difference as you prepare for college. To get recommendation letters
that are really meaningful, and guidance and mentorship from teachers
that know you and have known you since you started
in sixth grade. Like to be at a school for
seven years like that is really incredible. But yeah, like
(08:31):
you were saying with parents, when we think about college,
it can be so expensive and really terrifying, right, And
a lot of our students have really big dreams about
going out of state or to other schools or not
just getting their bachelors, going on and getting their masters
or PhD. And so we do have someone at each
school college success Advisor, and that's their sole job. They're
(08:53):
also part of the network like myself, but they're embedded
at each school and their job is to help our
students apply for scholarships and to help parents understand the
application process. It's changed a lot since I went to
college and really spend that time helping students figure out
what they want to do and the best way to
do it affordably.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
That's amazing if you're just joining us. I have here
Jill Brewster, development manager for El Paso Young Women's Preparatory Network.
So under this network there's two schools, the Young Women's
Leadership Academy for part of the YID and Young Women's
Steam Academy part of the EPID. Now, Jill, before we
go into open enrollment, how people can enroll the process.
(09:36):
I think part of this interview is also encouraging, obviously
the listeners to have their kids enroll. And I'm going
to give you one of my trepidations when my daughter
wanted to enroll is look, I don't want she's gonna
miss her friends, right, They're all part of feeder schools,
and that was one of my things. So what can
you tell the parents out there that you know, maybe
you're like, well, I want them to go where their
friends are going, and you know, into these different feeder schools.
(09:57):
What can you tell them?
Speaker 3 (09:59):
Yeah, I think that both schools are really really great
about bringing new students in and making sure that they
become part of the sisterhood, which both schools talk about,
and actually the two schools themselves are sisters with each other.
We talk about the sister school across town and the
sister schools all over the state. But I think, yeah,
they for example, if you have a student coming in
(10:20):
that's going to be a sixth grader, both schools do
a sixth grade camp right before school starts where the
girls meet older girls in the school. So there's some
mentorship that happens. They get to learn the lay of
the land, how to make their way around to their classrooms,
they get to yeah, they get to bond with the
other students, and so the first day of school for them,
(10:40):
they're not like showing up and not knowing anyone, and
they do that throughout the year for new students, especially
being here in Alpasa, we have a lot of military
students coming into both schools, and so that is an
ongoing thing. I wouldn't want to discourage anyone from applying.
If you move here in November, go ahead and apply.
But I think they take that very seriously, and the
(11:01):
expectations are really high on how we treat each other
with respect, trustworthiness, responsibility, and that kind of climate is
just across the school. So any new student coming in,
even if they don't know anyone or their friends went
to the feeder school instead, will be embraced there.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
And especially if they're in sixth grade, you think about it,
they're all new there, so they're all going to be
making friends.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
Yes, and they're open for for open enrollment is for
six all the way through eleventh grade. So maybe if
someone is at a high school right now but they're
not they don't feel that they're able to get as
far as they'd like to with STEM for example, or
they want to study engineering but they're you know, in
a class with thirty five students and that they're not
getting one on one time. It's something for them to consider,
(11:46):
okay to move to a smaller school setting.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
So they so, okay, so let's explain now the open
enrollment that you have is it? Can they only enroll
at this time or no?
Speaker 3 (11:56):
So they can enroll throughout the year. But the school always,
you know, they plan ahead for staffing, for example, and
programs and other things like that by knowing how many
students they're going to have in the in the late
spring where we are right now. So ideally anyone who here,
who is here in El Paso would be able to
make that choice enroll now so that the staff and
(12:19):
the school district know about how many students are coming
the following year. But we do know that people are
still making those decisions. I do want to say that
anybody who's interested in learning more. Both schools offer tours
all the time. You just have to call or email
either one and to get a tour at either school.
And if you want to come see both, come see both.
I'll give you a tour, but you can come and
(12:41):
just see and get a feel for if this is
the right setting for you. Something else too that we
find here is that sometimes people don't even realize we're here,
that these schools that you have this choice for for
an all girls school here. And I think part of
that too is the WILA so and why I stay
they were established in twenty sixteen and this is going
(13:05):
to be their fourth graduating class this year. And hy
WA and EPISD established in twenty seventeen. This is going
to be their third graduating class. So they're both younger schools.
So I think that's part of it.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
And so if people wanted to enroll, what what would
be the first step?
Speaker 3 (13:20):
So the first step would just be to look up
either school online, go to their website and there is
a link on both websites to let you know how
to enroll. You can also call the schools. Somebody will
walk you through it.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
Okay, it's that simple. It's very simple.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
It's just like enrolling for any of the other schools.
That's the first step in the process, and they'll tell
you what else to do.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
And so is there a deadline right now? There's not
a deadline line and it's always open. You just want
to try to encourage them now, like you said, to
know so they can prepare for they can prepare.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
So we know who to invite to our summer camp.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
There go all of that, Yes, and is the camp.
Does the camp cost.
Speaker 3 (13:53):
No, of course not No, it's for income. And we
also do a camp for our seniors. We call it
Senior boot Camp to get our seniors ready to start
talking about scholarships. Both schools have a person a speaker
coming in to talk about the importance of filling out
your applications and certain words to put in and words
not to put in, things like that, so we do.
There's a lot of support that's provided.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
I wish I had had that when I was in
high school. I was meeting at high school. I was
the nerd that, hey, does anyone else have the answer
besides the amber? But then when it came to college, right,
I didn't even know where to park. So it's great
that they're doing that for them. That takes a lot
of the guestwork out in parents. If you don't have
a child that is of college age yet but they
want to go to college, this is a tremendous health
(14:34):
pay attention to the scholarships, the grants, the guidance, you know,
especially that it's a college preparatory school. That is what
they're gearing them up for. And you know with these
types of schools like I see that again that the
thing that stuck out in my mind was that the
student led teacher conference like giving them that sense of
(14:55):
independence that they that they can do it themselves. And
if you want more information, and on Facebook isleta Young
Women's Leadership and then on that that's for the Young
WILA Young Women's Leadership Academy. A lot of isletas and
Women's and young and Facebook it is why w Steam
Prep Academy. And then Instagram why w Prep Now that's
(15:19):
for the preparatory network and then Facebook Why w Prep? Now?
If you're confused, go to Power one oh two Sunday
ninety nine point nine or ninety six point three k
HA country on our Instagram or Facebook. That information will
be on there. I'll have a picture of Jill as well,
you know, and a way too that I'll give them.
I'll put her personal phone number on there. That way
she can give you a tour. And I'm just kidding,
(15:40):
but you know, look into them. They're amazing schools, they're free,
they're all they're all female. Now, Jill, one last question
that I have for you is, Okay, I think a
lot of girls like I don't want to go to
an all girls school. What about problem? Can you put
their minds at ease? Like, what happens that problem? Who
do they do?
Speaker 3 (15:56):
Yeah, both schools still no, both schools still have homecoming.
They have problem, you can bring it, you can bring
a guest, they have all of that. And but I
think at the end of the day, girls' schools really
do make a difference, especially in building confidence and not
having some of the gender stereotypes that you would have
in a traditional school. Those aren't just aren't there, and
(16:19):
so we find that our students are more willing to
make try, try things, take for sports, right, leadership roles,
you know, talk more, contribute more, and we really see
out of the alumni that we have out of both schools,
we really see that what they've put together works. They
(16:41):
are leaders in their universities, and they have that confidence
that a lot of women unfortunately don't get until later
in life. I mean it takes a while, but we
are seeing that at a younger age. And I really
attribute that to having only girls at these schools.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
Yeah, it could be. There could be a lot of
pros to that.
Speaker 3 (16:58):
Right right, Jill, thank you so much for thank you,
to thank you, I appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
Welcome back to the al Paso Public Forum. I am
your host, Amber Banda, and today we have the FBI
back in the station. Don't worry, I am safe. I
didn't do anything wrong. But they're going to be talking
about a very special event. We have John Morales, special
Agent in charge. John, thank you for coming back.
Speaker 4 (17:23):
Thank you for having us Amber. Those cuffs tight, I'm sorry,
Oh the cuffs too tight.
Speaker 2 (17:27):
A little bit, but that's all right. You can push
the buttons for me. You have an assistant here, and
we also have Alex Bustio's acting community outreach specialist. Alex,
thank you for being back on the show.
Speaker 5 (17:36):
It's my pleasure.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
Good morning, thank you, good morning. So today we're going
to talk about an event that you have coming up
for the teens in the summer. The FBI is asking
for the teens, but it's not what you think. Right
now though, we're going to talk more about the FBI again. John.
We've had I've had you on before to talk about
the FBI. But something that still surprises me and when
is when you talk about and you talked about this
(17:58):
earlier Alex off air, you actually want more community outreach
and for me, it's just like I always think of
the FBI so secretive, Like you know, you didn't want
to tell tell the public anything, But what is the FBI?
What do you do for the community.
Speaker 4 (18:10):
Well, Ember, as you can imagine when we talked last time,
the FBI first and foremost protect the Constitution and protect
the American people. But aside from that, one of the things,
and it's been one of my goals since I started
here in this position, is to bring the community into
our house to get to know us. Most people can
go online and find out what the FBI does, what
they do, their mission, their programs, et cetera. But to me,
(18:33):
it's very important for our community to know why we
do what we do, and that's where these programs come in.
We have the Teen Academy. We also have a Citizen's
Academy where we're able to bring in our community so
they can actually interact one on one with agents, with
professional staff, with our support personnel, and gives an insight
that most other people don't have the opportunity to see
(18:54):
because usually everybody's thinking about the FBI they see on
TV or the show that portrays us in a certain light,
and they're very entertaining, but very far from reality.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
Oh so I remember you saying that that that's one
thing you wanted to focus on with community outreach and
educating the public. So why is that important for the
public to know what the FBI, what they do, and
who they are.
Speaker 4 (19:18):
First and foremost, It's because that's why we exist. We
are here for the community. We serve our community, but
also in them being able, in the community being able
to understand us, it allows us to interact better and
we can't do our job without the help of our community,
or we can, but it would be a lot harder.
But when the community understands us and they're able to
(19:38):
come to us and they feel comfortable doing that, that
opens up those channels and those lines of communication which
make us more effective, make us more efficient, and also
allow us to have a greater impact on the community.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
So then I'm going to ask you both this question. John,
I'll start with you, what is maybe one of the
biggest misconceptions that the public has about the FBI that
you would want to address to the public right now.
Speaker 4 (20:00):
That we're tracking and monitoring all your phone calls, all
your email messages, and that we're tracking your locations well,
we can.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
You can't know.
Speaker 3 (20:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
Yeah, when people tell me that, I'm like, man, I'm
going to sprouts after this. I doubt the FBI really
wants to know my activity. I mean, you know, they
can find me where I'm at Monday through Friday three
to seven. That's no problem. But and Alex, same thing.
What is one big misconception that you think the public
has that you maybe want to address to them right now?
Speaker 5 (20:25):
I think to rewrap everything that you just said that
we're not there for the community, That's exactly just what
Sema said. We are here to serve the community. So
that's a big misconception that we're the big bad guy
with the blu ray jackets and the gold lettering. But
we're here to serve you all.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
Yeah, and you still want to keep some of that image, right,
So if.
Speaker 4 (20:43):
I can add one more thing to that is what
a lot of people don't know is that, first of all,
is the diverse background that all our employees have. But
more importantly, every single one of our employees would be
extremely successful in private sector and corporate with high paying jobs,
living a much more comfortable life. But this is a
(21:04):
calling that you choose to do. I worked in private
sector before I decided to come to it.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
What does that mean?
Speaker 4 (21:09):
Private sector, private pharmaceutical industry, manufacture, corporate, tech, research, you
name it. But this is a calling where people and
the folks that come join the bureau, it's a calling
to serve. It's because you want to do something that's
actually going to have a positive impact not just in
our pockets, but also in the community and the country.
(21:30):
That has given us the opportunity to be here and
be able to do this.
Speaker 2 (21:33):
And what amazed me also last time is learning that
there is so many different aspects to the FBI, from
you know, social media to of course you know, carrying
the guns and breaking down the doors and everything in between. So,
before we get into this event that I know a
lot of people are going to be interested in, especially parents,
can you tell the listening audience some of the job
(21:55):
opportunities or opportunities period that are available within the FBI
that don't just involve carrying a gun and breaking down
a door.
Speaker 4 (22:01):
Oh my god. Absolutely so. First I'll start out with
telling you, and these are stats you can look up online.
The FBI has about thirty eight thousand employees all over
the world. Of those thirty eight thousand employees. Only roughly
about what thirteen to fourteen thousand are gun totals or
special agents. Everything else that's our professional staff, which is
(22:24):
why I say we can't do our job without our
professional staff. Now, when I say professional staff, that means
everything you can imagine. We have intelligence analysts, we have
staff operations specialist.
Speaker 5 (22:36):
On the other end, auto mechanics, we.
Speaker 4 (22:38):
Have auto mechanics. We have electronic technicians. We have tech
agents as well.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
When is a tech agent.
Speaker 4 (22:46):
Those are the techi guys that are going to be
working with the computers. They're going to be doing the installs,
they're going to be doing the downloads of software the FBI.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
It's very different from you know, maybe something I have
here at the radio station. Exactly our engineer over there,
he won't know what's going on.
Speaker 4 (23:01):
You some pretty good technology going on here.
Speaker 3 (23:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
Well, so what we're going to talk about right now,
and again, if you're just joining us, I have John Morales,
Special Agent in charge and Alex Bustillo's Acting Community Outreach
Specialist for the FBI. Of all passo, is that the
right way to say FBI and all passo FBI Field Office,
FBI Field Office. So if you're interested, they are having
(23:26):
an event. It's the high school student it's for high
school students. It's the twenty twenty five FBI Summer Teen Academy.
So Alex, I'll start with you. Did you want to
tell us a little bit more of this event or
is that more your department? John who wants to go first?
Speaker 4 (23:42):
We can both talk about it. But Alex right now
is he's our specialist. He knows about it more than
anybody else.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
There you go.
Speaker 5 (23:49):
Yeah, So, prior to coming into the FBI, like Setimoa said,
we all came from different backgrounds. I used to be
a high school algebra teacher and a high school coach.
That was my background. Just like he said, we all
had a calling to come in.
Speaker 2 (24:02):
So I think, do you go on? I need to
know how did that transition happen from there to the FBI?
Speaker 5 (24:07):
Very long story short. My dream was always to fly airplanes.
After I watched Top Gun. That obviously didn't work out
because my vision I worked last time. But my best friend,
Renee Luna, he was He and I graduated together, went
through all high school together, and his dream was always
to become an FBI special agent. Long story short, he
went through with it. He kept pushing me into it,
(24:28):
and little do we know, here we are seventeen years later.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
Shout out to Renee, that's awesome. Okay, I just had
to know. I'm sorry. I'm not the only one that
thought of it. So so you went from there and
then you went into the FBI.
Speaker 5 (24:41):
Correct And my first seven years was in the Las
Vegas Field office, where I worked Internet crimes against children.
Decided to come back home to all Passo, ol Passos,
home I was born and raised. I attended Olpasso High School,
got two degrees from the University of Texas at El Paso.
Very fortunate to come back home, born and raised. So
I wanted to give back to my community that gave
someone to me.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
That's amazing. And so this event again, the twenty twenty
five FBI Summertine Academy. Can you tell us a little
bit more the details of it.
Speaker 5 (25:08):
Yeah, so it's a lot of fun. I knows they see.
Morale has touched on this, but we do have so
many programs for the whole community. So he touched on
the Citizens Academy, which is for private sector religious leaders,
so on and so forth, where you can. You know,
you apply, you get to come into into the Field
office for six weeks and we teach you all about
(25:28):
the the FBI, which is really cool. As a matter
of fact, our latest Citizens Academy just graduated this past Friday.
Speaker 3 (25:35):
Cool.
Speaker 5 (25:35):
There was a day at the range, full day where
they get to see SWAT, our SWAT team demonstrate what
they can do, their tactics are bomb techs, what they
can do, and then they finally go out to the
range and they shoot all our weapons. It's like it
was a lot of fun.
Speaker 2 (25:48):
Cool. I remember I was trying to make that one.
You send me the details for the next one. I'm there.
Speaker 5 (25:53):
You're going next next year?
Speaker 2 (25:55):
Yes, you're going to hold you to that, right, Okay,
please do.
Speaker 5 (25:57):
And then so we also have a collegiate live So
we also have a collegiate academy this year the All
Passlefield Office with the assistance of our Midland Resident Agency,
we held one at University Texas Premium basin Dena and Odessa.
Huge success. And then we just graduated our UTEP Collegiate
Academy two fridays ago and they were very very impressed,
(26:21):
not just the students on what we showed them the
FBI is like but same reference to the UTEP staff.
They were so amazed at what we did. They came
up and they thanked that say see modalis and they
want to make it bigger and better next year.
Speaker 4 (26:38):
And if I can jump in sure, First of all,
what he just mentioned, those two events are some of
the most rewarding events that we have. Our job's amazing.
We do things that literally people pay money to go
to the movies to watch. Yeah, but our interaction with
the community is what I find most rewarding because we
had students there from all walks off life, all backgrounds
(27:00):
you can imagine, singularly focused on looking for an opportunity
to do something for their country, for their country. And
what was great about it was that it's like I mentioned,
I can we were there were how many.
Speaker 5 (27:12):
Like there were about sixty sixty students from UTEP that
graduated our academyl So out.
Speaker 4 (27:19):
Of those sixty students, I guarantee you you have special agency,
but you have the tech guys, you have the electronics,
you have the mechanics, you have every single walk of life,
because there is a place for everyone in the FBI
as long as you're willing to put in the work
and put in the time and keep your nose clean while.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
You're at it.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
And I remember going to one of those events at
UTIP shortly after our first interview, and I was amazed
at how welcoming all the agents were and how much
they did. Really they really like were there too, and
they seem like they just loved what they did. And again,
it's just a completely different picture that's painted in the movies.
Or I mean, I'm a biker, so I know, you know,
I'm a girl biker, so it's a little bit different,
(27:55):
but I get that whole you know, they think of
you a certain way, and it's kind of separate. But
what we want to talk about now is so if
you're interested in learning more, especially if you have teens,
they're having the twenty twenty five FBI Summer Teen Academy.
It's for grades nine through twelve and it's open to
accredited school so public, private, homeschool. It's going to be
(28:17):
July eight through the eleventh, John, can you tell us
a little bit more about this event, like, you know,
when where is it going to be, what are the hours,
stuff like that.
Speaker 4 (28:27):
So that event is held in our Field Office. And
what's great about it is that the teens that are
attending are going to be able to see briefings about
almost every aspect that we have. But more than just
a briefings is the interactive part of it.
Speaker 2 (28:43):
So when you say briefings, that's like meetings about what
you guys are going to work on that day.
Speaker 4 (28:46):
Yes, okay, well not just about that day, but what
the FBI does as a whole. We're going to talk
about our programs. We're going to talk about our missions,
we're going to talk about different threats that we cover.
We give examples about actual cases that we're able to
talk about. But then we also have the inner active portion.
They're going to be able to role play, they're going
to be able to do the firearm simulation, they're going
(29:06):
to be able to do a hostage negotiation, they're going
to be able to do an actual arrest. So all
that type of activities that we have going on are
to give them a full breadth of ideas and understanding
that the FBI is not just the agent, it's also
everything that supports it and also gives them an opportunity
to see what it is we do and that that
(29:28):
little fifteen second clip that you see on TV. Sometimes
takes months for us to be able to execute that operation,
sometimes even years.
Speaker 2 (29:36):
Oh wow, I believe it.
Speaker 4 (29:37):
And also it gives them direct access to agents, professional staff.
They can ask questions, We'll sit down and eat with them,
We'll talk with them, a lot of us exchange information
and stay in contact. And also opens a gateway for
them to be able to then proceed for a career.
Speaker 2 (29:53):
It's like the coolest summer camp ever. I went to
band camp. It's not quite the same, but I can
just imagine them like going to school next year being like,
look at the you know, like the confidence just from
going to that camp alone. And Alex, is this the
first one of these that you've had? Is this the
first team camp? No?
Speaker 5 (30:08):
Absolutely not no. This has been going on for years here,
not only across the country in every field office, but
here in all passa as well.
Speaker 2 (30:16):
Were you there for the one last year? Can you
tell us about the like previous ones?
Speaker 5 (30:20):
Sure? Sure, I mean, just like say, see what Adas said.
They go through an abundance of different either scenarios, if
you will, case studies. Those presentations are essentially case studies,
cases that have already been adjudicated that we can speak
about speak on and it brings awareness of to what
(30:40):
it all takes to make a case go full full
throttle from beginning to end. Within the FBI, they bring
in the SWAT team and they do a swat demonstration, right,
this is their tactics, so on and so forth. We'll
let them put on some of the gear, whether it's
our SWAT gear or agents. You know, we go conduct arrest,
we go conduct search on so we all have a
ballistic vest. Now they'll also be exposed to our evidence
(31:05):
response team with a lot of you out there. Maybe
your audience might think CSI, right, the people that go
out there and do the actual evidence collection. Yeah, photography,
the black light, the UV light, the whole outline, outline,
all that, robots and technology, robots and technology. I mean,
so all of that they're going to be exposed to.
And that's what they did last year. We just want
(31:25):
to build on it, make it bigger and better.
Speaker 2 (31:27):
I'm sure that we can do a whole other segment
on like AI and how it's changed the jobs in
the FBI. That's that's another segment I just thought about.
We can do that. So again, This is for grades
nine through twelve for accredited schools, public private homeschool July
eighth through the eleventh at six six zero South Masa Hills.
That's the FBI Field office off of Sunline. It's not
as far as I thought. Tuesday from a thirty to
(31:50):
four and Wednesday through Friday from eight thirty to twelve.
Now the application deadline is May sixteenth at five pm.
They're not going to be accepting the applications or incomplete applications.
I mean, that's just the start your you're gonna apply
for the FBI, you might as well get it. You
got too exactly. The email is FBI Underscore EP Underscore
(32:11):
teen Academy at FBI dot gov. If you can't memorize
that whole email, maybe you just weren't sitting by your
radio with a pen and pad. Don't worry. On Sunny
Power and on ninety six point three K Country, Instagram
and Facebook, all this information will be posted. You can
find more of their info on Instagram at FBI dot
al Paso and on Facebook FBI dash Alpasso. Go to
(32:31):
FBI dot gov slash EP outreach now sac John Morales.
Is there anything else that you would like to tell
the listening audience, I.
Speaker 4 (32:40):
Just want to encourage everyone to please take advantage of
these opportunities. I mean, this is a once in a
lifetime opportunity. And I guarantee you that once you go
through these academies, whether it's the Teen Academy or the
Citizens Academy, your whole view and perspective of the FBI
and the opportunities it presents not just for you to
serve and do something for your country and to protect
(33:01):
the American people, but also for your personal growth and
the opportunity to be able part of something bigger than yourself.
Speaker 2 (33:09):
It's amazing. And again, if we follow them on social media,
you can keep up with the different events that they
have going on. And Alex, is there anything else that
you would like to tell the listening audience. You know,
this is.
Speaker 5 (33:20):
A very very competitive program. We're taking approximately forty, no
more than fifty applicants this year. How many schools do
we have in the Olpaso area?
Speaker 1 (33:30):
Right?
Speaker 5 (33:30):
And we're also accepting since we service the Midland area
and the Alpine Texas area. Those are resident agencies that
are out of Olpasso. If you will little satellite offices,
if people are going to apply out of there, We're
going to go ahead and take their application, but there's
only forty to fifty spots available, so there's very competitive.
But boy does it look good on a college resume.
(33:52):
I was part of the FBI teen A category.
Speaker 2 (33:53):
So with that being said, real quick, I know that
they're going to have to have an essay supporting essay
in with their application. So for people listening, you know,
maybe like an iHeart courtesy, can you tell them maybe
what some tips on how you know to better their application?
Not cheating, but maybe like a cheat code.
Speaker 5 (34:12):
So, as a former teacher, every student that's applying nine
through the twelfth grade right now, right and a lot
of have this misconception while I'm a senior, I can't apply. Well,
if you're not going to college right at that time
and you're still going to be an allpasso, you can
most definitely participate. But every student just took what the
star test you were given writing prompts, follow proper punctuation grammar,
(34:34):
learn how to write. Because at the end of the day,
if you want to apply to become a special agent
with the FBI, you're going to have to take a
written test it's never ending. So some people think, oh,
I can just kind of glaze by this essay. No,
take some time, take some thought. The writing prompt on
what you have to write is on the application itself.
It's self explanatory. Just make sure you use proper grammar punctuation.
Speaker 2 (34:57):
They can start practicing via text right outline, la out loud,
not lol.
Speaker 5 (35:02):
Yeah, yeah, and let's not use any AI. Let's not
let you chat GPT. We know we want to hear
from you. We don't want to hear from a computer
generated device and.
Speaker 2 (35:12):
Their FBI they'll be able to tell Kamon, John Morales,
Alex Bussios. Thank you so much for being here with
me today.
Speaker 5 (35:18):
It was a pleasure.
Speaker 1 (35:19):
You've been listening to El Paso Public Forum, a weekly
public affairs presentation of iHeartRadio El Paso. If you, your
organization or event would like to be featured on an
upcoming program, please email to ep Forum at iHeartMedia dot
com or call us at nine one five three five
one five four zero zero. Tune in again next week
(35:39):
for another additional of El Paso Public Forum. The preceding
program was recorded at the studios of iHeartRadio El Paso
Welcome to ol Paso Public Forum, a weekly half hour
public affairs presentation of iHeartRadio El Paso for over twenty years,
featuring local news and interviews of interest to our listeners
in West Texas and southern New Mexico. All views and
opinions expressed on this program are those of the host
and guest, and not necessarily those of iHeartRadio Management and
now El Paso Public Forum.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Welcome back to the al Paso Public Forum. I am
your host, Amberbanda, and today we have Jill Brewster. She
is the development manager for ol Paso Young Women's Preparatory Network. Jill,
thank you so much for being here with me today.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
Thank you for having me. I'm happy to be here
and talk on behalf of the network.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Of course, you look wonderful. I heard you dressed up
for me, so I'm very glad. I feel like maybe
I should have done some little more with my hair. No, no,
you're awesome. Thank you. So we're talking today about the
Young Women's Preparatory Network and there's two schools that fall
under that. But I'm going to let you explain a
little bit more about what this network is.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
Jill, sure things. So there are two incredible schools here
in Olpaso that are members of the network. So the
Young Women's Preparatory Network is a nonprofit. The home bases
in Dallas. It's a statewide nonprofit with twelve schools across
the state that they support. So it's a little bit
of an interesting partnership. It is a nonprofit that partners
with public schools and all of the schools are single
(01:23):
gender schools that support girls that are typically from a
lower socio economic status. And some of the times there
are students that are going to these schools that are
going to be the first generation in their family to
graduate from high school.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
And a lot of times it's also girls that are
going to be the first generation in their family to
go to college.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
That's amazing.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
Ye.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
This Young Women's Preparatory Network. The two schools that are
involved that are a part of this network. Why specifically
these two schools are not other public schools.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
So the network actually they've been around since two thousand
and two, it's been they've been around for a while
and slowly grown around the state. So they actually do
their own recruiting and looking into schools that would be
a good fit, and so they reach out when they
see a school that is an all girls school typically
(02:17):
six through twelfth grade, that's what our two local schools are,
and reach out to find out more and learn more
about the school culture, about the rigorousness of the of
the curriculum, about the staff, about the principal, and about
the population of the students that are attending the schools.
And when they feel like it's a good fit, they
work with the school district. So locally we have they
(02:38):
work with EPISD and also YID to create an MoU
that you know, lays out their partnership and that's the
beginning of it. So once they find a school now
that now there's twelve across the state, then they really
invest in those schools in all different ways. Financially, they
invest they invest in pfessional development for the administration at
(03:02):
that school and for the staff. And there's a lot
of benefits to these schools joining the network. They get
to join in and have alumni services for their alumni. There's
internship help, there are career connections, all kinds of different
things come with the school joining the network.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
Ah, that makes sense because one of the schools that
you're talking about, see when I initially got the email,
Hey do you want to interview Jill Brewster, you know,
the development manager of Apostle Young Women's Preparatory Network. My
mind immediately went to WILA, the Young Women's Leadership Academy.
So that is one of the two schools that's part
of the YID District. And I know it's a free
school for girls specifically six through twelve, and my daughter
(03:44):
went there for a couple of years, my oldest hopefully
fingers crossed my second one, you know, she's barely going
into fifth grade, she has one more year. But I
was like, they do all these amazing things, but it's free. Yes,
So I'm like, well, how do they fund? You know,
do the girls just saw that many chocolate bars? And
does this answer my question? The Young Women's Preparatory Network,
they're the ones that help to you know.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
Yes, well, I mean these two schools. So locally, we
have the Young Women's Leadership Academy, which you're familiar with,
a fantastic school in d and we also have a
brand new member to the network that just joined this year.
In EPISD we have the Young Women's Steam Academy. Both
schools are all girls schools from six through twelfth grade.
They are free public schools. They are funded from their
(04:26):
school districts. Additional funding does come through the network, and
that's also my job as the development manager. I'm part
of the network, but my position is here to find
grants for them, fundraising events, community outreach like today, being
able to come in and talk to you and let
the community know that we're here. And so it's just
(04:49):
but most of their funding does come from the school districts.
They are still falling under those districts. And it's funny
that you say what you said because a lot of
times I don't know if it's because the word academy
is in the name, or our students do wear uniforms,
but there's a misconception that we are a private school
or that parents have to pay. That's not the case
at all. You do have to apply, just like you
(05:10):
would to any type of magnet school. But both schools
are accepting applications from within and outside of their districts
right now for the twenty five twenty six school year.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Okay, so, and they will.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
Work with students on transportation and the application though there
is one, it's very simple, it's very easy. So I
would not want anyone to not apply just because they
heard the word application.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Yeah, so initially again that was also one of my things,
is oh, apply unless you might not get accepted. And
I wasn't sure if it did have to have a
cost to it, and like you said, no, it's free.
My daughter went there for two years. I called it
the Hogwarts of all Passo because it's like it was
really cool because I remember at one point at Wila
my daughter went and the parent teacher conferences they were
(05:53):
more like student teacher conferences. They're student led. And so
you know with Wyla, I'm not sure about the Young
Women's Steam Academy any and hear about that one until
you walked in the door. But with Whilave, you know
it is a college preparatory school, yes, and so is
the other one as well, a class.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
They are so similar, just in two different districts.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
In two different districts. So what makes a college preparatory
school different from than just a public school or I
don't want to say just but you know, but what
is the difference?
Speaker 3 (06:20):
Sure? Well, I mean one one thing that then both
the network and the two local schools can all boast
is that they have one hundred percent high school graduation rate,
which is amazing, and that is so currently if you
take both schools, that's about seven hundred and fifty girls
in our community that are on that track to graduate
from these schools, you know, from six through twelfth grade.
(06:42):
But so the college prep piece is that they really
start in middle school with the girls introducing and having
them enroll in pre ap courses, meaning that they've already
finished those requirements so that when they are in high school,
they're taking ap courses which gives them college credit. And
so they're going in to college sometimes as a sophomore
(07:05):
or already having some classes under their belt that are
college level. And that's really important. Not only do both
schools have one hundred percent high school graduation rate, they
also have one hundred percent of the graduating classes have
been accepted to at least one four year college.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Oh wow, And anyone missed the headline there that save
you money fair college.
Speaker 3 (07:25):
Yes, so Bury the lead, but I think that's really
important too. I have a daughter that goes to YWA.
That's the that's what we call the EPISD versus so
the Young Women's Team Academy. I usually call it y
w A, and then we've got WYLA for YID. I
know it's a lot of whyse but so my daughter
is a freshman at YWA. She started there in seventh
(07:46):
grade when we moved to El Paso, And I was
just having a conversation yesterday with my husband talking about
college visits, which we're a little bit away from that,
but I know it's going to be here soon. And
there are so many things that these schools do that
some of the more traditional high schools just aren't able
to because there are so many more students there. So
I do feel like they have us. I mean, the
(08:08):
class sizes are smaller, and you get more one on
one time and with your teachers, which makes a huge
difference as you prepare for college. To get recommendation letters
that are really meaningful, and guidance and mentorship from teachers
that know you and have known you since you started
in sixth grade. Like to be at a school for
seven years like that is really incredible. But yeah, like
(08:31):
you were saying with parents, when we think about college,
it can be so expensive and really terrifying, right, And
a lot of our students have really big dreams about
going out of state or to other schools or not
just getting their bachelors, going on and getting their masters
or PhD. And so we do have someone at each
school college success Advisor, and that's their sole job. They're
(08:53):
also part of the network like myself, but they're embedded
at each school and their job is to help our
students apply for scholarships and to help parents understand the
application process. It's changed a lot since I went to
college and really spend that time helping students figure out
what they want to do and the best way to
do it affordably.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
That's amazing if you're just joining us. I have here
Jill Brewster, development manager for El Paso Young Women's Preparatory Network.
So under this network there's two schools, the Young Women's
Leadership Academy for part of the YID and Young Women's
Steam Academy part of the EPID. Now, Jill, before we
go into open enrollment, how people can enroll the process.
(09:36):
I think part of this interview is also encouraging, obviously
the listeners to have their kids enroll. And I'm going
to give you one of my trepidations when my daughter
wanted to enroll is look, I don't want she's gonna
miss her friends, right, They're all part of feeder schools,
and that was one of my things. So what can
you tell the parents out there that you know, maybe
you're like, well, I want them to go where their
friends are going, and you know, into these different feeder schools.
(09:57):
What can you tell them?
Speaker 3 (09:59):
Yeah, I think that both schools are really really great
about bringing new students in and making sure that they
become part of the sisterhood, which both schools talk about,
and actually the two schools themselves are sisters with each other.
We talk about the sister school across town and the
sister schools all over the state. But I think, yeah,
they for example, if you have a student coming in
(10:20):
that's going to be a sixth grader, both schools do
a sixth grade camp right before school starts where the
girls meet older girls in the school. So there's some
mentorship that happens. They get to learn the lay of
the land, how to make their way around to their classrooms,
they get to yeah, they get to bond with the
other students, and so the first day of school for them,
(10:40):
they're not like showing up and not knowing anyone, and
they do that throughout the year for new students, especially
being here in Alpasa, we have a lot of military
students coming into both schools, and so that is an
ongoing thing. I wouldn't want to discourage anyone from applying.
If you move here in November, go ahead and apply.
But I think they take that very seriously, and the
(11:01):
expectations are really high on how we treat each other
with respect, trustworthiness, responsibility, and that kind of climate is
just across the school. So any new student coming in,
even if they don't know anyone or their friends went
to the feeder school instead, will be embraced there.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
And especially if they're in sixth grade, you think about it,
they're all new there, so they're all going to be
making friends.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
Yes, and they're open for for open enrollment is for
six all the way through eleventh grade. So maybe if
someone is at a high school right now but they're
not they don't feel that they're able to get as
far as they'd like to with STEM for example, or
they want to study engineering but they're you know, in
a class with thirty five students and that they're not
getting one on one time. It's something for them to consider,
(11:46):
okay to move to a smaller school setting.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
So they so, okay, so let's explain now the open
enrollment that you have is it? Can they only enroll
at this time or no?
Speaker 3 (11:56):
So they can enroll throughout the year. But the school always,
you know, they plan ahead for staffing, for example, and
programs and other things like that by knowing how many
students they're going to have in the in the late
spring where we are right now. So ideally anyone who here,
who is here in El Paso would be able to
make that choice enroll now so that the staff and
(12:19):
the school district know about how many students are coming
the following year. But we do know that people are
still making those decisions. I do want to say that
anybody who's interested in learning more. Both schools offer tours
all the time. You just have to call or email
either one and to get a tour at either school.
And if you want to come see both, come see both.
I'll give you a tour, but you can come and
(12:41):
just see and get a feel for if this is
the right setting for you. Something else too that we
find here is that sometimes people don't even realize we're here,
that these schools that you have this choice for for
an all girls school here. And I think part of
that too is the WILA so and why I stay
they were established in twenty sixteen and this is going
(13:05):
to be their fourth graduating class this year. And hy
WA and EPISD established in twenty seventeen. This is going
to be their third graduating class. So they're both younger schools.
So I think that's part of it.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
And so if people wanted to enroll, what what would
be the first step?
Speaker 3 (13:20):
So the first step would just be to look up
either school online, go to their website and there is
a link on both websites to let you know how
to enroll. You can also call the schools. Somebody will
walk you through it.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
Okay, it's that simple. It's very simple.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
It's just like enrolling for any of the other schools.
That's the first step in the process, and they'll tell
you what else to do.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
And so is there a deadline right now? There's not
a deadline line and it's always open. You just want
to try to encourage them now, like you said, to
know so they can prepare for they can prepare.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
So we know who to invite to our summer camp.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
There go all of that, Yes, and is the camp.
Does the camp cost.
Speaker 3 (13:53):
No, of course not No, it's for income. And we
also do a camp for our seniors. We call it
Senior boot Camp to get our seniors ready to start
talking about scholarships. Both schools have a person a speaker
coming in to talk about the importance of filling out
your applications and certain words to put in and words
not to put in, things like that, so we do.
There's a lot of support that's provided.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
I wish I had had that when I was in
high school. I was meeting at high school. I was
the nerd that, hey, does anyone else have the answer
besides the amber? But then when it came to college, right,
I didn't even know where to park. So it's great
that they're doing that for them. That takes a lot
of the guestwork out in parents. If you don't have
a child that is of college age yet but they
want to go to college, this is a tremendous health
(14:34):
pay attention to the scholarships, the grants, the guidance, you know,
especially that it's a college preparatory school. That is what
they're gearing them up for. And you know with these
types of schools like I see that again that the
thing that stuck out in my mind was that the
student led teacher conference like giving them that sense of
(14:55):
independence that they that they can do it themselves. And
if you want more information, and on Facebook isleta Young
Women's Leadership and then on that that's for the Young
WILA Young Women's Leadership Academy. A lot of isletas and
Women's and young and Facebook it is why w Steam
Prep Academy. And then Instagram why w Prep Now that's
(15:19):
for the preparatory network and then Facebook Why w Prep? Now?
If you're confused, go to Power one oh two Sunday
ninety nine point nine or ninety six point three k
HA country on our Instagram or Facebook. That information will
be on there. I'll have a picture of Jill as well,
you know, and a way too that I'll give them.
I'll put her personal phone number on there. That way
she can give you a tour. And I'm just kidding,
(15:40):
but you know, look into them. They're amazing schools, they're free,
they're all they're all female. Now, Jill, one last question
that I have for you is, Okay, I think a
lot of girls like I don't want to go to
an all girls school. What about problem? Can you put
their minds at ease? Like, what happens that problem? Who
do they do?
Speaker 3 (15:56):
Yeah, both schools still no, both schools still have homecoming.
They have problem, you can bring it, you can bring
a guest, they have all of that. And but I
think at the end of the day, girls' schools really
do make a difference, especially in building confidence and not
having some of the gender stereotypes that you would have
in a traditional school. Those aren't just aren't there, and
(16:19):
so we find that our students are more willing to
make try, try things, take for sports, right, leadership roles,
you know, talk more, contribute more, and we really see
out of the alumni that we have out of both schools,
we really see that what they've put together works. They
(16:41):
are leaders in their universities, and they have that confidence
that a lot of women unfortunately don't get until later
in life. I mean it takes a while, but we
are seeing that at a younger age. And I really
attribute that to having only girls at these schools.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
Yeah, it could be. There could be a lot of
pros to that.
Speaker 3 (16:58):
Right right, Jill, thank you so much for thank you,
to thank you, I appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
Welcome back to the al Paso Public Forum. I am
your host, Amber Banda, and today we have the FBI
back in the station. Don't worry, I am safe. I
didn't do anything wrong. But they're going to be talking
about a very special event. We have John Morales, special
Agent in charge. John, thank you for coming back.
Speaker 4 (17:23):
Thank you for having us Amber. Those cuffs tight, I'm sorry,
Oh the cuffs too tight.
Speaker 2 (17:27):
A little bit, but that's all right. You can push
the buttons for me. You have an assistant here, and
we also have Alex Bustio's acting community outreach specialist. Alex,
thank you for being back on the show.
Speaker 5 (17:36):
It's my pleasure.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
Good morning, thank you, good morning. So today we're going
to talk about an event that you have coming up
for the teens in the summer. The FBI is asking
for the teens, but it's not what you think. Right
now though, we're going to talk more about the FBI again. John.
We've had I've had you on before to talk about
the FBI. But something that still surprises me and when
is when you talk about and you talked about this
(17:58):
earlier Alex off air, you actually want more community outreach
and for me, it's just like I always think of
the FBI so secretive, Like you know, you didn't want
to tell tell the public anything, But what is the FBI?
What do you do for the community.
Speaker 4 (18:10):
Well, Ember, as you can imagine when we talked last time,
the FBI first and foremost protect the Constitution and protect
the American people. But aside from that, one of the things,
and it's been one of my goals since I started
here in this position, is to bring the community into
our house to get to know us. Most people can
go online and find out what the FBI does, what
they do, their mission, their programs, et cetera. But to me,
(18:33):
it's very important for our community to know why we
do what we do, and that's where these programs come in.
We have the Teen Academy. We also have a Citizen's
Academy where we're able to bring in our community so
they can actually interact one on one with agents, with
professional staff, with our support personnel, and gives an insight
that most other people don't have the opportunity to see
(18:54):
because usually everybody's thinking about the FBI they see on
TV or the show that portrays us in a certain light,
and they're very entertaining, but very far from reality.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
Oh so I remember you saying that that that's one
thing you wanted to focus on with community outreach and
educating the public. So why is that important for the
public to know what the FBI, what they do, and
who they are.
Speaker 4 (19:18):
First and foremost, It's because that's why we exist. We
are here for the community. We serve our community, but
also in them being able, in the community being able
to understand us, it allows us to interact better and
we can't do our job without the help of our community,
or we can, but it would be a lot harder.
But when the community understands us and they're able to
(19:38):
come to us and they feel comfortable doing that, that
opens up those channels and those lines of communication which
make us more effective, make us more efficient, and also
allow us to have a greater impact on the community.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
So then I'm going to ask you both this question. John,
I'll start with you, what is maybe one of the
biggest misconceptions that the public has about the FBI that
you would want to address to the public right now.
Speaker 4 (20:00):
That we're tracking and monitoring all your phone calls, all
your email messages, and that we're tracking your locations well,
we can.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
You can't know.
Speaker 3 (20:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
Yeah, when people tell me that, I'm like, man, I'm
going to sprouts after this. I doubt the FBI really
wants to know my activity. I mean, you know, they
can find me where I'm at Monday through Friday three
to seven. That's no problem. But and Alex, same thing.
What is one big misconception that you think the public
has that you maybe want to address to them right now?
Speaker 5 (20:25):
I think to rewrap everything that you just said that
we're not there for the community, That's exactly just what
Sema said. We are here to serve the community. So
that's a big misconception that we're the big bad guy
with the blu ray jackets and the gold lettering. But
we're here to serve you all.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
Yeah, and you still want to keep some of that image, right,
So if.
Speaker 4 (20:43):
I can add one more thing to that is what
a lot of people don't know is that, first of all,
is the diverse background that all our employees have. But
more importantly, every single one of our employees would be
extremely successful in private sector and corporate with high paying jobs,
living a much more comfortable life. But this is a
(21:04):
calling that you choose to do. I worked in private
sector before I decided to come to it.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
What does that mean?
Speaker 4 (21:09):
Private sector, private pharmaceutical industry, manufacture, corporate, tech, research, you
name it. But this is a calling where people and
the folks that come join the bureau, it's a calling
to serve. It's because you want to do something that's
actually going to have a positive impact not just in
our pockets, but also in the community and the country.
(21:30):
That has given us the opportunity to be here and
be able to do this.
Speaker 2 (21:33):
And what amazed me also last time is learning that
there is so many different aspects to the FBI, from
you know, social media to of course you know, carrying
the guns and breaking down the doors and everything in between. So,
before we get into this event that I know a
lot of people are going to be interested in, especially parents,
can you tell the listening audience some of the job
(21:55):
opportunities or opportunities period that are available within the FBI
that don't just involve carrying a gun and breaking down
a door.
Speaker 4 (22:01):
Oh my god. Absolutely so. First I'll start out with
telling you, and these are stats you can look up online.
The FBI has about thirty eight thousand employees all over
the world. Of those thirty eight thousand employees. Only roughly
about what thirteen to fourteen thousand are gun totals or
special agents. Everything else that's our professional staff, which is
(22:24):
why I say we can't do our job without our
professional staff. Now, when I say professional staff, that means
everything you can imagine. We have intelligence analysts, we have
staff operations specialist.
Speaker 5 (22:36):
On the other end, auto mechanics, we.
Speaker 4 (22:38):
Have auto mechanics. We have electronic technicians. We have tech
agents as well.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
When is a tech agent.
Speaker 4 (22:46):
Those are the techi guys that are going to be
working with the computers. They're going to be doing the installs,
they're going to be doing the downloads of software the FBI.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
It's very different from you know, maybe something I have
here at the radio station. Exactly our engineer over there,
he won't know what's going on.
Speaker 4 (23:01):
You some pretty good technology going on here.
Speaker 3 (23:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
Well, so what we're going to talk about right now,
and again, if you're just joining us, I have John Morales,
Special Agent in charge and Alex Bustillo's Acting Community Outreach
Specialist for the FBI. Of all passo, is that the
right way to say FBI and all passo FBI Field Office,
FBI Field Office. So if you're interested, they are having
(23:26):
an event. It's the high school student it's for high
school students. It's the twenty twenty five FBI Summer Teen Academy.
So Alex, I'll start with you. Did you want to
tell us a little bit more of this event or
is that more your department? John who wants to go first?
Speaker 4 (23:42):
We can both talk about it. But Alex right now
is he's our specialist. He knows about it more than
anybody else.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
There you go.
Speaker 5 (23:49):
Yeah, So, prior to coming into the FBI, like Setimoa said,
we all came from different backgrounds. I used to be
a high school algebra teacher and a high school coach.
That was my background. Just like he said, we all
had a calling to come in.
Speaker 2 (24:02):
So I think, do you go on? I need to
know how did that transition happen from there to the FBI?
Speaker 5 (24:07):
Very long story short. My dream was always to fly airplanes.
After I watched Top Gun. That obviously didn't work out
because my vision I worked last time. But my best friend,
Renee Luna, he was He and I graduated together, went
through all high school together, and his dream was always
to become an FBI special agent. Long story short, he
went through with it. He kept pushing me into it,
(24:28):
and little do we know, here we are seventeen years later.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
Shout out to Renee, that's awesome. Okay, I just had
to know. I'm sorry. I'm not the only one that
thought of it. So so you went from there and
then you went into the FBI.
Speaker 5 (24:41):
Correct And my first seven years was in the Las
Vegas Field office, where I worked Internet crimes against children.
Decided to come back home to all Passo, ol Passos,
home I was born and raised. I attended Olpasso High School,
got two degrees from the University of Texas at El Paso.
Very fortunate to come back home, born and raised. So
I wanted to give back to my community that gave
someone to me.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
That's amazing. And so this event again, the twenty twenty
five FBI Summertine Academy. Can you tell us a little
bit more the details of it.
Speaker 5 (25:08):
Yeah, so it's a lot of fun. I knows they see.
Morale has touched on this, but we do have so
many programs for the whole community. So he touched on
the Citizens Academy, which is for private sector religious leaders,
so on and so forth, where you can. You know,
you apply, you get to come into into the Field
office for six weeks and we teach you all about
(25:28):
the the FBI, which is really cool. As a matter
of fact, our latest Citizens Academy just graduated this past Friday.
Speaker 3 (25:35):
Cool.
Speaker 5 (25:35):
There was a day at the range, full day where
they get to see SWAT, our SWAT team demonstrate what
they can do, their tactics are bomb techs, what they
can do, and then they finally go out to the
range and they shoot all our weapons. It's like it
was a lot of fun.
Speaker 2 (25:48):
Cool. I remember I was trying to make that one.
You send me the details for the next one. I'm there.
Speaker 5 (25:53):
You're going next next year?
Speaker 2 (25:55):
Yes, you're going to hold you to that, right, Okay,
please do.
Speaker 5 (25:57):
And then so we also have a collegiate live So
we also have a collegiate academy this year the All
Passlefield Office with the assistance of our Midland Resident Agency,
we held one at University Texas Premium basin Dena and Odessa.
Huge success. And then we just graduated our UTEP Collegiate
Academy two fridays ago and they were very very impressed,
(26:21):
not just the students on what we showed them the
FBI is like but same reference to the UTEP staff.
They were so amazed at what we did. They came
up and they thanked that say see modalis and they
want to make it bigger and better next year.
Speaker 4 (26:38):
And if I can jump in sure, First of all,
what he just mentioned, those two events are some of
the most rewarding events that we have. Our job's amazing.
We do things that literally people pay money to go
to the movies to watch. Yeah, but our interaction with
the community is what I find most rewarding because we
had students there from all walks off life, all backgrounds
(27:00):
you can imagine, singularly focused on looking for an opportunity
to do something for their country, for their country. And
what was great about it was that it's like I mentioned,
I can we were there were how many.
Speaker 5 (27:12):
Like there were about sixty sixty students from UTEP that
graduated our academyl So out.
Speaker 4 (27:19):
Of those sixty students, I guarantee you you have special agency,
but you have the tech guys, you have the electronics,
you have the mechanics, you have every single walk of life,
because there is a place for everyone in the FBI
as long as you're willing to put in the work
and put in the time and keep your nose clean while.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
You're at it.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
And I remember going to one of those events at
UTIP shortly after our first interview, and I was amazed
at how welcoming all the agents were and how much
they did. Really they really like were there too, and
they seem like they just loved what they did. And again,
it's just a completely different picture that's painted in the movies.
Or I mean, I'm a biker, so I know, you know,
I'm a girl biker, so it's a little bit different,
(27:55):
but I get that whole you know, they think of
you a certain way, and it's kind of separate. But
what we want to talk about now is so if
you're interested in learning more, especially if you have teens,
they're having the twenty twenty five FBI Summer Teen Academy.
It's for grades nine through twelve and it's open to
accredited school so public, private, homeschool. It's going to be
(28:17):
July eight through the eleventh, John, can you tell us
a little bit more about this event, like, you know,
when where is it going to be, what are the hours,
stuff like that.
Speaker 4 (28:27):
So that event is held in our Field Office. And
what's great about it is that the teens that are
attending are going to be able to see briefings about
almost every aspect that we have. But more than just
a briefings is the interactive part of it.
Speaker 2 (28:43):
So when you say briefings, that's like meetings about what
you guys are going to work on that day.
Speaker 4 (28:46):
Yes, okay, well not just about that day, but what
the FBI does as a whole. We're going to talk
about our programs. We're going to talk about our missions,
we're going to talk about different threats that we cover.
We give examples about actual cases that we're able to
talk about. But then we also have the inner active portion.
They're going to be able to role play, they're going
to be able to do the firearm simulation, they're going
(29:06):
to be able to do a hostage negotiation, they're going
to be able to do an actual arrest. So all
that type of activities that we have going on are
to give them a full breadth of ideas and understanding
that the FBI is not just the agent, it's also
everything that supports it and also gives them an opportunity
to see what it is we do and that that
(29:28):
little fifteen second clip that you see on TV. Sometimes
takes months for us to be able to execute that operation,
sometimes even years.
Speaker 2 (29:36):
Oh wow, I believe it.
Speaker 4 (29:37):
And also it gives them direct access to agents, professional staff.
They can ask questions, We'll sit down and eat with them,
We'll talk with them, a lot of us exchange information
and stay in contact. And also opens a gateway for
them to be able to then proceed for a career.
Speaker 2 (29:53):
It's like the coolest summer camp ever. I went to
band camp. It's not quite the same, but I can
just imagine them like going to school next year being like,
look at the you know, like the confidence just from
going to that camp alone. And Alex, is this the
first one of these that you've had? Is this the
first team camp? No?
Speaker 5 (30:08):
Absolutely not no. This has been going on for years here,
not only across the country in every field office, but
here in all passa as well.
Speaker 2 (30:16):
Were you there for the one last year? Can you
tell us about the like previous ones?
Speaker 5 (30:20):
Sure? Sure, I mean, just like say, see what Adas said.
They go through an abundance of different either scenarios, if
you will, case studies. Those presentations are essentially case studies,
cases that have already been adjudicated that we can speak
about speak on and it brings awareness of to what
(30:40):
it all takes to make a case go full full
throttle from beginning to end. Within the FBI, they bring
in the SWAT team and they do a swat demonstration, right,
this is their tactics, so on and so forth. We'll
let them put on some of the gear, whether it's
our SWAT gear or agents. You know, we go conduct arrest,
we go conduct search on so we all have a
ballistic vest. Now they'll also be exposed to our evidence
(31:05):
response team with a lot of you out there. Maybe
your audience might think CSI, right, the people that go
out there and do the actual evidence collection. Yeah, photography,
the black light, the UV light, the whole outline, outline,
all that, robots and technology, robots and technology. I mean,
so all of that they're going to be exposed to.
And that's what they did last year. We just want
(31:25):
to build on it, make it bigger and better.
Speaker 2 (31:27):
I'm sure that we can do a whole other segment
on like AI and how it's changed the jobs in
the FBI. That's that's another segment I just thought about.
We can do that. So again, This is for grades
nine through twelve for accredited schools, public private homeschool July
eighth through the eleventh at six six zero South Masa Hills.
That's the FBI Field office off of Sunline. It's not
as far as I thought. Tuesday from a thirty to
(31:50):
four and Wednesday through Friday from eight thirty to twelve.
Now the application deadline is May sixteenth at five pm.
They're not going to be accepting the applications or incomplete applications.
I mean, that's just the start your you're gonna apply
for the FBI, you might as well get it. You
got too exactly. The email is FBI Underscore EP Underscore
(32:11):
teen Academy at FBI dot gov. If you can't memorize
that whole email, maybe you just weren't sitting by your
radio with a pen and pad. Don't worry. On Sunny
Power and on ninety six point three K Country, Instagram
and Facebook, all this information will be posted. You can
find more of their info on Instagram at FBI dot
al Paso and on Facebook FBI dash Alpasso. Go to
(32:31):
FBI dot gov slash EP outreach now sac John Morales.
Is there anything else that you would like to tell
the listening audience, I.
Speaker 4 (32:40):
Just want to encourage everyone to please take advantage of
these opportunities. I mean, this is a once in a
lifetime opportunity. And I guarantee you that once you go
through these academies, whether it's the Teen Academy or the
Citizens Academy, your whole view and perspective of the FBI
and the opportunities it presents not just for you to
serve and do something for your country and to protect
(33:01):
the American people, but also for your personal growth and
the opportunity to be able part of something bigger than yourself.
Speaker 2 (33:09):
It's amazing. And again, if we follow them on social media,
you can keep up with the different events that they
have going on. And Alex, is there anything else that
you would like to tell the listening audience. You know,
this is.
Speaker 5 (33:20):
A very very competitive program. We're taking approximately forty, no
more than fifty applicants this year. How many schools do
we have in the Olpaso area?
Speaker 1 (33:30):
Right?
Speaker 5 (33:30):
And we're also accepting since we service the Midland area
and the Alpine Texas area. Those are resident agencies that
are out of Olpasso. If you will little satellite offices,
if people are going to apply out of there, We're
going to go ahead and take their application, but there's
only forty to fifty spots available, so there's very competitive.
But boy does it look good on a college resume.
(33:52):
I was part of the FBI teen A category.
Speaker 2 (33:53):
So with that being said, real quick, I know that
they're going to have to have an essay supporting essay
in with their application. So for people listening, you know,
maybe like an iHeart courtesy, can you tell them maybe
what some tips on how you know to better their application?
Not cheating, but maybe like a cheat code.
Speaker 5 (34:12):
So, as a former teacher, every student that's applying nine
through the twelfth grade right now, right and a lot
of have this misconception while I'm a senior, I can't apply. Well,
if you're not going to college right at that time
and you're still going to be an allpasso, you can
most definitely participate. But every student just took what the
star test you were given writing prompts, follow proper punctuation grammar,
(34:34):
learn how to write. Because at the end of the day,
if you want to apply to become a special agent
with the FBI, you're going to have to take a
written test it's never ending. So some people think, oh,
I can just kind of glaze by this essay. No,
take some time, take some thought. The writing prompt on
what you have to write is on the application itself.
It's self explanatory. Just make sure you use proper grammar punctuation.
Speaker 2 (34:57):
They can start practicing via text right outline, la out loud,
not lol.
Speaker 5 (35:02):
Yeah, yeah, and let's not use any AI. Let's not
let you chat GPT. We know we want to hear
from you. We don't want to hear from a computer
generated device and.
Speaker 2 (35:12):
Their FBI they'll be able to tell Kamon, John Morales,
Alex Bussios. Thank you so much for being here with
me today.
Speaker 5 (35:18):
It was a pleasure.
Speaker 1 (35:19):
You've been listening to El Paso Public Forum, a weekly
public affairs presentation of iHeartRadio El Paso. If you, your
organization or event would like to be featured on an
upcoming program, please email to ep Forum at iHeartMedia dot
com or call us at nine one five three five
one five four zero zero. Tune in again next week
(35:39):
for another additional of El Paso Public Forum. The preceding
program was recorded at the studios of iHeartRadio El Paso
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