A free seminar is happening Saturday for women to hear more about the career opportunities in local, state, and federal law enforcement.
The FBI, San Antonio Police Department, and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department are hosting the annual seminar. It will be held at the Texas A&M University-San Antonio campus from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
KENS 5 spoke with two of the speakers, FBI special agent Jessica Triola and SAPD officer Perla Dominguez. They plan on sharing their personal stories and how they got into their careers. Triola has been with the FBI for five years and is part of the border corruption task force. Dominguez has been with SAPD for four years and is assigned to the overnight DWI unit.
On Friday, the women shared some of the challenging aspects of their job. The pair described some of the stereotypes they face.
"I've been in situations where I've gone to give a presentation to a school group and I'll show up and they'll ask me where the agent is," Triola recalled.
Despite the gender bias she encounters, Triola said that she's had a lot of support from her family, the community, and the FBI. She said that women already have the qualities and skills that law enforcement agencies seek.
"We have the capability to handle any situation emotionally. We often have high maturity level and the ability to organize and those are all things you need in a law enforcement officer or FBI agent when you're handling emergency situations," Triola said. "I know a lot of women want to serve the community. They want to help others. Hopefully they can see in our experiences and the work that we do that those are things that they can do in law enforcement."
Domingez shared some of the challenges of her job. She recalled moments when she was called to an incident and people would ask for a male officer to help them instead of her. But she said that women are more than capable despite the gender bias.
"Challenges that I experience in my career are meeting others’ expectations and to ensure that I'm not a stereotype," said Domingez, adding that her job is rewarding in many ways, especially helping others. "I'm interacting with people every single day, and just knowing that you're making a difference in their lives in one aspect or another is definitely fulfilling for me.”
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's assistant commander Brandi Reeder will also be speaking at the event on Saturday. A one-on-one opportunity will be available with all three women after their speeches.
