A group of students and faculty at the CIA. Some of the student opted out of the picture for security reasons.Seventeen students from the IWP International Association for Intelligence Education (IAFIE) Alpha Student chapter, along with Director of Career Services & Special Programs Derrick Dortch and IAFIE Student Chapter advisor Prof. Aaron Danis, were given the honor of visiting the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) Headquarters in Langley, Virginia on April 20th, 2023. The students received a tour of the newly refurbished CIA Museum commemorating the CIA’s 75th anniversary and participated in an intensive and personalized career and resume workshop.
Students had the opportunity to talk, formally and informally, to several CIA employees about their time in the Agency. They discussed positions, career paths, educational opportunities, and work culture. Students had their resumes reviewed by Hiring Recruiters and heard a recruitment brief on best resume practices and critical hiring needs.
After lunch, the entire group of employees and visiting IWP students had a guided tour of the on-site museum. The new museum is dedicated to educating and inspiring the CIA’s workforce and official visitors on the CIA’s history, mission, people, and contributions to national security. Students were able to relate the tangible objects in the museum to their IWP class content.
Then the group toured the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) museum. OSS was America’s first centralized intelligence agency during World War II. The gallery brings the OSS legacy to life and suggests how the CIA reflects that legacy. The artifacts and photographs cover the history of OSS from the Pearl Harbor attack through the dissolution of the OSS after the war. Along the way, it introduces many trailblazers of U.S. intelligence.
At the end of the day, students were able to see the CIA’s Mi-17 helicopter on the CIA grounds. In response to the attacks on September 11, 2001, the CIA deployed a small team into Afghanistan using the Russian-made Mi-17 helicopter to make contact with Northern Alliance forces to ally with them against the Taliban and al-Qa’ida. CIA officers added the tail number 9-11-01 in honor of Americans killed in the 9-11 terrorist attacks.
Every IWP student attending this specially tailored visit left more informed and inspired by the amazing work the CIA does each day to protect the nation. IWP is grateful to the CIA for an incredible visit and for the service that it renders to our country.