Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ

From high-stakes counterterrorism operations overseas to serving on executive protection details in Washington, D.C., Special Agent Amy Poklar ’05 has built a career defined by service, courage and calculated risk-taking.

Yet, whether navigating a complex investigation in Iraq or speaking up in a high-level briefing, Poklar traces her sharp communication skills and steadfast confidence directly back to her formative years at Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ.

 

Growing up in a proud Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ family (her father, Bob Poklar '71, as well as her brother, Aaron '02, and cousins, Micki Poklar '91 and Katie Poklar Shafer '01, are all alumni), Poklar’s connection to the Academy runs deep. During her time on campus, she captained the cheerleading squad, participated in speech and debate and discovered a passion that would shape the rest of her life.

 

"While I was at Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ, I really fell in love with government classes and history, and I knew I wanted to do something focused in that realm," Poklar reflects. "Mr. McCamley in English was wonderful, and Mr. Lindley was my history teacher. That's where I really found my passion."

 

Beyond discovering her academic interests, Poklar points to Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ’s rigorous environment as the catalyst that helped her overcome a childhood trait: extreme shyness. Through intense writing assignments, public speaking and the classroom Socratic method, she found her voice.

 

"Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ gave me the confidence to really become who I was and to own my voice and my passions," she says. "The education I got at Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ is second to none. Being able to speak well and write well has done wonders for me in my career. When I got to college, it wasn't super challenging because of how well Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ had prepared me."

 

Poklar carried that preparation to the University of Mary Washington, where she double-majored in International Affairs and Middle Eastern Studies. Determined to serve in federal law enforcement, she made a bold decision during her junior year: despite never having traveled outside the United States, she embarked on a six-month intensive Arabic language immersion program in Fez, Morocco.

 

That leap outside her comfort zone set her career in motion. After college, Poklar joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 2010, initially working as an intelligence analyst in the Cleveland Field Office while simultaneously earning her master's degree in national security policy studies at night. In 2015, she fulfilled a long-held ambition by becoming an FBI Special Agent.

 

Her agent career quickly took her across the country and the globe. Assigned first to the Chicago Field Office, Poklar worked on a high-intensity gang squad: running confidential sources, conducting undercover weapons and narcotics buys, and testifying in court. From there, she was selected for the Attorney General's Protection

 

Detail in Washington, D.C., protecting U.S. Attorneys General William Barr and Merrick Garland.

 

Eventually, Poklar transitioned to an extraterritorial counterterrorism squad in the Washington Field Office, focusing on international threats involving Iran and Israel, before completing a 14-month overseas deployment to Baghdad, Iraq, as Assistant Law Enforcement Attaché.

 

"I loved doing criminal work, but counterterrorism is really where my passion lies," Poklar says. "When I finally got to a counterterrorism squad, I thought, 'Oh yeah, this is definitely what I'm supposed to be doing.'"

 

To manage the heavy demands of federal agent work, Poklar prioritizes physical fitness, quality time with family and escaping into nature to stay grounded.

 

Looking back at her path from Gates Mills to global national security work, Poklar encourages students and alumni alike to embrace the scary opportunities that come their way:

 

"As much as you can push yourself out of your comfort zone to try new experiences, I absolutely encourage everybody to do it. Without taking those steps, I wouldn't have the career I have now or half of the life experiences I've had. You have to go for it; force yourself into cool opportunities, even if they seem scary at first."