Riverside, Calif., April, 2002 -- "Gracias. Buenos dias! Como estas?..."

Retired FBI agent and Puerto Rican native Marla Talbot warmed up to La Sierra University students during University Worship on April 11 with her enthusiastic opening, adding, "I can never do that in Pittsburgh, so I've been looking forward to this!"

Dispelling any rumors that she was super-human, Talbot began, "I have to tell you I'm not very courageous." She learned from her father that courage is fear that has said its prayers.

Kit Watts and Penny Shell, of the LSU Women's Resource Center, flank former FBI agent Marla Talbot - Photo by Kandi White

Her decision to join the FBI was not a lifelong plan or dream. To the contrary, Talbot's life decisions were based on applying faith to every stage of her life. She opened her heart to what God wanted.

She was interested in the FBI and contacted their office about her interest. A recruiter showed up at her house that afternoon.

A woman with an impeccable past—no criminal record, no drug or even alcohol use, US citizen, and native-fluency Spanish—Talbot recalled, "The recruiter thought he'd died and gone to heaven!"

After completing the recruiting process, Talbot joined the FBI Academy at Quantico, Virginia. The grueling 16-week training focused on three areas: classroom work, firearms, and physical fitness.

"I don't think any of those things would be very hard if you didn't have to do it all at once," Talbot explained. "It's boot camp-type training. A typical day would be something like four hours in the classroom, four hours in firearms and one hour in the gym to work out and learn defense tactics, followed by running in the evening."

Talbot told the rapt audience, "I can lift a man much bigger than me in the air—yes I can!"

At her final exam, the instructor told the class if anyone thought they couldn't handle the FBI pressure, danger, or possibility of taking someone's life, they should leave. Several men and some women got up and walked out. Talbot stayed.

She says, "1972 was a great year for women." The first two women were hired as FBI special agents in the summer of '72 (after President Hoover's death that summer). I used to say, 'I'm here over his dead body—literally.' "

Talbot moved to her first office in San Francisco in September 1979. She was assigned one of the toughest agents, infamous for having arrested Buddy Hearst, to be her trainer. She speculates that the men thought she would be out in three months with him as her trainer, but instead Talbot earned respect and friendship.

Talbot had a great life in San Francisco despite the fact that her first supervisor told her, "women don't belong here." Statistically speaking she really didn't belong in the FBI, of approximately 9,000 agents, only 140 were females at that time.

To gain experience she worked on white-collar crime, something Talbot considers boring. But she built up experience and received an invitation to do counterintelligence, something that can't be learned in training school.

In 1997, Talbot was transferred to the position of applicant coordinator, to work as a recruiter for the FBI. Talbot found "I love guiding (applicants). My responsibility is to hire the best people."

The FBI has strict dress codes, and Talbot soon realized that many people didn't know how to dress for the interview. "So I actually held a class on how to dress and cut their hair."

Additionally, Talbot was involved in the FBI's debriefing teams, which are responsible for counseling FBI employees and families. As Talbot explains, "I have never done just one thing at a time."

This still applies after Talbot's retirement from the FBI on September 4, 2001. Living in Pittsburgh, she currently teaches Spanish at Duquesne University, and is the vice president of Pittsburgh Action Against Rape, an agency that gives free counseling and therapy to victims of sexual abuse, regardless of race, sex, or income.

Talbot credits all her life experiences to helping her become a great special agent. From her father she learned to apply faith. She also learned how to deal with men from her family– an important skill with 78 percent of agents being male. She learned how to cook and be a spouse. She learned from church leadership, where she was involved as early as age 10. She learned from her culture and heritage; growing up poor in Puerto Rico helped her learn the tragedy of life and prepared her to search out happiness and joy.

Moving to the US, she observed human behavior and culture (an important skill for an agent). She attended Andrews University and learned English, discovered the joy of writing, and also met her future husband. But more importantly, she learned to know herself at Andrews, explaining, "Until the day I have to choose, I have no idea who I am or what I believe," a concept that guided her career in the FBI and still guides her life.

"Faith is something that you take two steps back, say, 'OK God, I don't know.' Trust the outcome is His, and work on what appears to be right. When you land on your legs you better be able to say, 'Thank you, God.' "

Talbot's appearance at La Sierra University was sponsored by the Provost, the Women's Resource Center, and the chaplain's office."

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by Kandi White