Hess: Right, and then you go someplace where all the kids had those qualifications.

Rosenberg: Volleyball star, you're a tennis star, you're top ranked in your high school class, academically. How humbling is it when you're a good student in high school, and you get your confidence up and you're thinking, Okay, I can do this, you know. But I think you told me the engineering program at Purdue is hard, very hard. Rosenberg: You were a wonderful high school student. But I was thrilled because I had everything in one place. If I was going to go to school someplace in an engineering program-of course, why not? Dad was thrilled because that was in state tuition. And I thought that was a pretty neat place.

I went up and visited the campus, my oldest sister went to Purdue. And of course, like I said, by this time, I was thinking about this whole space program and astronaut thing-looked into engineering schools and Purdue is not only one of the top engineering schools in the country, but particularly in aerospace or aeronautical Astronautical engineering, and it's the cradle of astronauts: Neil Armstrong, Gus Grissom, whole variety of astronauts have graduated from Purdue. My guidance counselor suggested that I look into engineering. I thought science and math was pretty neat. As a result, I had this aptitude toward science and math. Hess: When I was growing up, I was in school, I was a good student, fortunate enough to have great teachers, people who just encouraged me and my parents, of course. Tell me what you studied and sounds like you're still pursuing the dream of becoming an astronaut. Rosenberg: You're a rocket scientist, basically. I want to be an FBI agent.” How much cooler could it be? And I just remember distinctly I thought, “this is so cool. And of course, we got to see the museum artifacts and things along the way and had a great tour guide. They did some shooting and trick shooting. We also walked down to the level where they had the firearms range, and we got to watch behind the glasses. And so, we walked through and watch behind the glass, the forensic scientists conducting their work. And at that time, the FBI laboratory was located inside that building. Edgar Hoover building, which is the home of FBI headquarters in Washington. But the coolest thing was, we got to tour the J. I was in awe of all of these things that I saw in the nation’s capital, and I just thought that was really cool. Of course, there are lots of really cool things that I saw as an 11-year-old, including the Smithsonian, I remember so much about that trip, you could tour the White House at the time without, you know, having to go through all of the things you go through now. And that particular summer, we went to Washington DC. Hess: We used to have family vacations every year. with your mom and dad, and they took you on a tour of the FBI. Rosenberg: Even before you got to high school, there's a story you tell about yourself when you were a 11-year-old girl visiting Washington D.C.

So, I picked tennis and volleyball as my team sport. Hess: Volleyball, tennis, actually, softball, but unfortunately, I couldn't do both tennis and softball at the same time. Rosenberg: And that was volleyball, tennis. Rosenberg: Well, it's great to be in your hometown, Louisville, Kentucky. Today, she is back home is the Chief of Public Safety for Louisville, Kentucky, where she manages several vital city agencies, and though retired from the FBI, Amy continues to serve. Amy rose through the ranks to run the Memphis and Louisville field offices and to run two large divisions at headquarters, where she oversaw FBI technology in one job, and the FBI’s criminal and cyber work in another. And one of her first assignments as part of that team was to Oklahoma City because of the horrific domestic terrorism attack on the Murrah Federal Building in 1995. She was one of the first agents in her office to be part of a new evidence response team. Instead, Amy got her start in the FBI as a Special Agent in Kansas City, working violent crime cases. Amy is a rocket scientist, but poor eyesight dashed her NASA dreams. She studied Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering at Purdue. As a child, Amy dreamed of being an astronaut. Amy grew up in Jeffersonville, Indiana, a small town just across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky. This week, my guest is Amy Hess, the highest-ranking woman in FBI history. I'm Chuck Rosenberg, and I am honored to be your host for another compelling conversation with a fascinating guest from the world of public service.

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