The Kennedy Center hosted their first Ask Me Anything event of the year, led by intelligence expert Brad Burton on Jan. 29.
Burton is an adjunct professor at BYU, and has served in the intelligence community for over 42 years. After opening the lecture with his tips about the key skill for intelligence careers, Burton opened the floor to the students in a question-and-answer style approach.
Burton emphasized how crucial it is to be an effective analyst, giving examples of “good analysis” in reporting roles in intelligence careers.
With Driscoll’s reflective model and highlighting his experiences in training young Kuwaiti analysts, Burton demonstrated the importance of the “so what” and the “now what” in analysis.
“I thought the information he shared was spot on for what I’m trying to understand about intelligence jobs,” Nick Topham, a BYU business student, said.
A unique group of BYU students participated in this lecture, most being fluent in another language and searching for careers to utilize this skill.
Valery Benitez, an international student from Mexico, came with hopes of learning more about security jobs applicable to her.
“In a perfect world, I would work for the security council on the UN," Benitez said. "But I don’t even know if that is possible so I’m hoping to find out."
Students in search of career guidance and insight brought their questions to Burton’s lecture because of his expertise in intelligence opportunities.
“I’m studying strategy, but I’ve been looking into intelligence because I speak Russian. I’m not sure it will even be in my wheelhouse, but I’m hoping [Burton] can help me figure that out,” Topham said.
Tyler Stone, both an ROTC student and an enlisted member of the military, approached Burton with a similar question.
“I was interested to know whether a background in intelligence, if I go to the army and work on the civilian side, would put me at an advantage with the CIA,” Stone said.
Professor Burton responded emphatically to this inquiry mid-lecture that it absolutely would. He encouraged students to stay fluent in their mission language. He explained that it would give them an edge on others when applying for jobs and boosting monthly pay.
Explaining the best skills for their “tool kit” in the intelligence hiring process, Burton closed the conference with remarks on being Latter-day Saints with experience in languages and applying analysis principles to become the best in their field.