The calling of the Bureau

When watching action movies about the agents in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) like “Silence of the Lambs” or “X Files,” there may be tendency by some to think of them as unreal or even larger than life.
But the job is very real especially for those who are saved by the agents committed to the bureau.
Thirty-five year-old Maritza Conde, a Puerto Rican mother and wife from a working class background, decided to apply to become an FBI agent after working as an attorney for a few years in the commonwealth island. She was accepted into the agency and her current job description with the FBI is fighting against human trafficking, the illegal buying and selling of people. Everyday she tries to protect those who are helpless and vulnerable in the seedy, urban jungle of the Space City.
Conde, a member of the Houston Operations Office, gave us a little bit of her time so we could pick her brain and learn about her experience.

Photo by Don Juan Corzo

Houston Examiner: What motivated you to become an FBI agent?
Maritza Conde: I’d always wanted to be part of the FBI ever since I was a child and watched them on TV shows or movies. I was also very interested in criminal investigation and, actually, I became a lawyer first.
After I graduated from college with a bachelor’s in political science, I applied to attend law school and to work for the FBI at the same time in 1992.
The FBI called a year later but I told them I wanted to finish working on my law degree. I graduated in 1997 and practiced law for about eight years and I decided to apply with the agency again.

HE: But why become a government agent if you already seemed to have it going as an attorney?

MC: It was in my heart and the idea never left my head. I enjoyed my experience as a lawyer trying cases in criminal and civil courts, but I got to a point where I wanted more than getting completed investigations on my desk; I wanted to be part of the process of investigation of a case. Being part of the FBI was a way to be able to participate and help develop a finished product, so to speak. What’s more, being a lawyer has helped me in my experience as an agent
Law gives you the knowledge of the interaction with people y that’s a great advantage in the FBI, even more if you’re bilingual, since they prefer people that speak more than one language. The physical training was intense, but they also prepare you in many other aspects.