People who know senior Taylor Lavery know her as an A student, a varsity soccer athlete, and the boys’ basketball manager.  What most people don’t know about Taylor is that she is also a part of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Taylor first got her start at the DEA because her dad used to do all the banking for them and later on became involved in their corporate board. “The average age of the corporate board is around 53, so they said that they were looking for a new young mind. Turns out that new young mind was mine,” laughed Taylor.

Taylor has been involved in the DEA for the past three years and has loved every second of it. When asked how she feels this experience has changed her, she responded “I think it really has given me a deeper understanding of myself.” She elaborated by retelling her experience of participating in a simulated raid.

“It really taught me that I had to be fearless and showed me that I had the courage to do it, which really pushed me outside my comfort zone,” she said.

Taylor participates in many events with her DEA team such as going to corporate meetings at least once a month, taking trips to the gun range, and going up to Camp Smith, a National Guard installation, every year to participate in a simulation. This year, Taylor, the youngest member of her group by at least 20 years, was chosen as leader by her supervisor.

Taylor elaborated on this simulation by saying that she led her team into a dark house on a fake drug raid, where current agents were hiding out and pretending to be drug suspects. During such raids, Taylor and the rest of her team use guns with fake bullets that she says can’t kill but do hurt.

Taylor believes that what a lot of people don’t know about the DEA is that “there is a lot of danger in it…any situation can go wrong, especially because many of the people that they have to deal with on a daily basis are on such high doses of drugs… it really can turn around in an instant.”

Taylor believes her overall experience with the DEA has been really positive for her. “I got to meet a lot of different people with really interesting stories and backgrounds… and I’ve met some really good mentors and role models along the way.”

Although Taylor does not want to pursue this as a career, she still hopes to continue her involvement in the DEA throughout her college years and later on as an adult on the corporate board.