When friends ask Crosby Houpt what he did with his summer
vacation, he may not be able to tell them.
Houpt, a senior at Eastern Michigan University, is one
of only 56 college students nationally — and one of only
two in Michigan — to earn a prestigious internship
with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The 22-year-old
from Mount Gilead, Ohio, has a top-secret security clearance
during his more than two months at FBI headquarters in
Washington, D.C., so he may not able to share details of
the projects assigned to him.
 |
F.B.I. GUY: Crosby Houpt, an EMU
senior
majoring in language and
world business, is one
of only 56
college students nationally to earn
a prestigious internship with the
Federal Bureau
of Investigation
this summer. |
"It's quite an honor, and I'm really excited about the
challenge," said Houpt, who is majoring in language and
world business within EMU's College of Business.
According to the FBI, the Honors Internship Program offer
students an insider's view of its operations and an opportunity
to explore career opportunities within the bureau. The
program also is designed to enhance the FBI's visibility
and recruitment efforts at U.S. colleges and universities.
Only individuals with strong academic credentials, outstanding
character, a high degree of motivation and the willingness
to represent the FBI upon returning to their respective
campus are selected.
Houpt's first day was June 5, and he will spend the next
62 days at the J. Edgar Hoover Building, returning to Ypsilanti
in mid-August.
An estimated 4,000 students apply to the program, now
in its 25th year. Houpt discovered the program while doing
Web searches last fall for internship opportunities.
He applied in November 2005 and, after enduring and passing
months of interviews, essays, drug screenings, background
checks and polygraph exams, he was officially accepted
in late April.
As part of the final review process, FBI agents interviewed
more than two dozen friends, family members, EMU professors
and employers about his background and character.
Houpt believes that his language background — he's
studying Spanish and spent several months studying abroad
in Mexico last year — and business background were
favorable factors in his selection, as was his range of
on- and off-campus activities.
For example, he is president of Alpha Kappa Lambda, a
Greek social fraternity. He helped form a local chapter
nearly three years ago. No alcohol is allowed in the fraternity's
chapter house, a decision its leaders made as a way to
break with the stereotypes of collegiate Greek life. He
also has served as vice president of the Inter-Fraternity
Council, the body that represents EMU's fraternities.
He has served on the First Year Council, a sub-unit of
Student Government comprised of freshman, and as chief
of staff for a student body president. And for three years,
he has sat in the press box and announced home games for
the women's softball team.
He also works in the College of Business' Department of
Management, one of several campus jobs he has had since
arriving at EMU as a freshman in September 2002. He also
has served as a residence hall office manager for two years.
When time allows, he enjoys watching and playing baseball,
and guiding EMU's Ultimate Frisbee team in competition
against other universities.
Houpt was one of 60 students from Michigan colleges and
universities who applied last year. Each of the FBI's 56
field offices — the Michigan one is in Detroit — does
an initial application screening in order to select and
forward five finalists to FBI headquarters. There, a second
committee does a deeper review. Eventually, a finalist
and alternate are selected from each field office. Houpt
was the alternate for the Detroit field office. But occasionally,
both a finalist and alternate from a field office are rejected
in the very final stages, usually after failing a polygraph
or background exam. Or additional funding is found allowing
more of the alternates to be awarded internships.
Whatever the case, someone else's loss was Houpt's gain.
Houpt graduated from Mount Gilead High School in 2002,
and chose to enroll at EMU after comparing the strengths
of colleges of business from a handful of Mid-American
Conference universities. His parents, Kimberly Hickman
and Kevin Houpt, still live in the Mount Gilead area.
