“To you, the FBI stands for Federal Bureau of Investigations,” guest speaker and retired FBI agent Mark Kellett said. “To me and other agents, it’s fidelity, bravery and integrity.”

Kellett visited RHS on Thursday, March 12, to speak with mock trial and criminal justice students about his 27-year career in federal law enforcement and his work in counterterrorism. He retired from the FBI in November 2024.

During his presentation, Kellett talked about his journey to the FBI, the process of becoming an agent and a major counterterrorism case he led while working on the Joint Terrorism Task Force in New York.

“I went to Montclair State University thinking I was going to go to law school,” Kellett said. “But my sophomore year, career services held a law enforcement career day panel where they had several different organizations speak, including the FBI and U.S. Customs Service.”

Hearing the agents speak about their work sparked his interest in federal law enforcement. So, after graduating, Kellett joined the U.S. Customs Service in 1996 as an import specialist. He eventually became a special agent investigating financial crimes connected to narcotics trafficking and money laundering.

Following the restructuring of federal agencies after the September 11 attacks and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, Kellett applied to the FBI. He described the challenging hiring process to get into the FBI, including written tests, interviews, a polygraph exam and a physical fitness assessment, followed by 20 weeks of training at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia.

Kellett then turned the discussion to one of the major cases he worked on in the FBI: a counterterrorism investigation involving a suspect connected to the terrorist organization Al Qaeda. The case went on for a decade and required multiple government agencies from around the world to work together.

According to Kellett, investigators eventually linked the suspect to a failed bombing attempt at a military base in Afghanistan using forensic evidence, including fingerprints recovered from an explosive device.

“Fingerprints are outstanding evidence in a trial,” Kellett said.

The case eventually went to federal court, where the suspect was convicted on multiple charges and sentenced to 45 years in prison.

Kellett closed his presentation by explaining how counterterrorism investigations are particularly challenging because the FBI’s mission is to prevent attacks before they happen.

“Working on the JTTF (Joint Terrorism Task Force), if a terrorist attack happens, you feel like you failed,” he said.

Despite the pressure he faced, Kellett described his career working for the FBI was extremely rewarding, encouraging students to consider careers in public service and federal law enforcement.