Training day: Broncs learn from federal agents

By Sarah F. Griffin

The International Revenue Service (IRS) hosted a training day on Rider’s campus on Oct. 14 for students interested in going into the law enforcement field.

IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent Tom Rudnicki said, “Programs like this are important because they give us a chance to conduct our research at universities and colleges all over the nation and get the word out about what it means to be a special agent.”

Rudnicki, a field agent, said the program will benefit students because “It will certainly give them insight into what it is that we do and how we go about our jobs.”

He added, “When we get to come out to the colleges and universities and conduct our outreach, it’s certainly an aspect of that sheds light on the jobs we actually do so people can get a real life visual of what it is that a special agent for IRS Criminal Investigation does in a given day.”

Rudnicki said that even though most of his work is done in the field, he and his partner, who declined to be interviewed, “Try and make ourselves as widely available as possible, and we are always looking to branch out into other schools.”

According to Rudnicki, many of the students attending the event were accounting majors. “To be an IRS special agent, you need an accounting degree or some sort of business degree, or you could have any other degree and at least fifteen credits in accounting. We try to have a good mix of students that are full accounting majors or in business, with the minimum accounting requirements,” said Rudnicki.

Of the students that went to the event, Rudnicki said, “I think they were very highly motivated. Rider has always been a very successful school for us — I believe this is our fourth or fifth time here — and we look forward to coming back and showing the next class what we do as well because it’s good to garner interest, and we’ve always had a great reception here.”

Rudnicki emphasized how Rider has always been a successful school to have events like these.

“Rider is as friendly and warm a university as we have ever been, so we plan on coming back, and the students demonstrate the reason for that every time we get to meet them, by their enthusiasm and how well they do in the training,” Rudnicki added.

Mandy McLean, a senior criminal justice major who is planning on being a lawyer or FBI agent after graduation, participated in the IRS event. “I just felt like it would be beneficial for me because

I want to work for the federal government in the future,” said McLean. “Today I actually learned a lot of important things, mainly just what it is like to be an officer working day-to-day and the different things they put into their cases.”

One of the activities that McLean said was the most beneficial was the mock interview section, where participants had to “go and speak to a client.” McLean said the training helped her in “setting up [her] career path.”

Zachary Schmid, a freshman criminal justice major, also participated in the training to see if he was interested in the IRS.

“I plan on joining law enforcement after graduation, so when I saw this project was going to take place, I was definitely going to do it,” Schmid said.

After completing the training, Schmid said, “I learned about how the IRS deals with an extreme amount of numbers; the amount of papers and patience is extraordinary. I can tell you it’s not an easy job; these agents are top-tier.”