Investigating career options: Deaven Milam ’22 interns for the ATF

Deaven Milam

Deaven Milam ’22 may only be one year through college, but she already knows exactly what she wants to do after she graduates from Randolph. Thanks to her summer internship with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) she is now even more certain that she wants to become a federal agent.

During the program, Milam has assisted special agents, task force officers, and intelligence personnel in criminal investigations. Specifically, she has researched and transcribed audio files, attended court hearings, filed paperwork, and helped run the ATF command post at the Norfolk, Va. field office while agents and officers serve arrest warrants and attend to other investigative tasks.

“I’ve learned a lot so far,” Milam said. “For example, I’ve learned how to read criminal histories, how to present cases to attorneys, how to put together a case, how meetings with informants go, and much more.”

Milam discovered the opportunity when searching for internships with federal agencies earlier this year. She is majoring in history at Randolph.

“Randolph prepared me for the internship by helping me with time management skills so I could complete tasks in a timely manner, and critical thinking skills so I could be helpful and be able to contribute in group discussions,” Milam said. “I chose to do this internship because I would like to be a federal agent one day, and this helps get my foot in the door.”