As judo events wrapped at the Paris Olympics this week, we checked in with Texas A&M University graduate Caleb Lenard ’13, who traveled with Team USA Judo as a security specialist. As a special agent with the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) and previous president of the Texas A&M Judo Club, Lenard was certainly a good fit.
“I have watched the Olympics since I was a little kid and always wanted to go be a spectator,” Lenard said. “Getting to be part of this is even more special because I get paid to watch judo, the sport I fell in love with at college, and wrestling, one of the original Olympic sports.
“I also get to support and interact with the teams, and the games are in one of my favorite cities,” he added.
Lenard, a native of Rusk, Texas, who majored in history at Texas A&M, is assigned to the DSS Houston Field Office. The DSS is charged with protecting the people, property and information of the U.S. Department of State.
“DSS protects the Secretary of State 24/7, foreign dignitaries visiting the United States, foreign ministers, former heads of state, members of the British royal family, as well as U.S. citizens, athletes, corporate sponsors during major international events like the Olympic Games, Pan Am Games and the World Cup,” Lenard explained. The organization also manages security programs at U.S. embassies and consulates abroad, and investigates passport and visa fraud.
“I have worked passport fraud cases all over Texas and even went to Pennsylvania for a visa fraud case,” Lenard said. “When I am not working passport fraud cases, I travel to provide protection for senior U.S. diplomats. In less than one year, I have been to Albania, the United Arab Emirates, the Czech Republic, the U.K. and France.”
Aggie Judo
Lenard said his experience competing for Texas A&M’s judo team gave him insight into the needs of both the athletes and the event hosts. He served three years as president of the judo club and says it gave him the chance to travel around the U.S. to compete in tournaments with other college teams, Olympians and Paralympians.
He shared one particularly painful experience: “I spent one Spring Break in Puerto Rico where I got a bad sunburn and then tried to enjoy training with their Olympic team.
“I also had the chance to go to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. I made most of my friends in the Judo Club and I am still very close friends with the coach, Bob Perez, to this day.”
While he was president, the club hosted tournaments. “Some were smaller local tournaments, but others were larger such as the National Collegiate Judo tournament,” he recalled. “Hosting tournaments taught me how to deal with different stakeholders and a sports governing body. The team was also very diverse with members from every continent, except Antarctica. It helped me learn how to work with people from different cultures.
“I use the experience I got as president of the Texas A&M Judo Club everyday as a member of the foreign service and as a federal law enforcement officer.”
Lenard said he still practices martial arts, “but I have found it hard to find judo gyms near where I have been living in the past years. I can’t wait for my kids to be old enough that I can start teaching them,” he said.
Finding A Career Through Student Involvement
Lenard started his time in college in Gateway, a provisional program where students can attend summer courses in hopes of gaining full admission. “That was a fantastic summer because it felt like we had campus to ourselves, and I was able to make my ‘college friends’ before the fall even started,” Lenard said. He was also a volunteer with the International Student Mentors Association where Aggie students help new international students figure out how to do things like get a driver’s licenses and teach them about U.S. and Texas culture. “One fun meeting was teaching about s’mores,” he recalled, adding he encourages current students to get involved, especially in judo.
“I would like to encourage students to go give the Texas A&M Judo Club a try,” he said. “You do not need to have any martial arts experience to be on the team and compete. I had never done judo before Texas A&M, and I left school with a judo scholarship. I would especially like to encourage women students to go try it out — judo is a great sport for men and women, and the Texas A&M Judo Club has a great culture for beginners to learn without getting hurt.”
If judo doesn’t strike a student’s interest, Lenard encourages Aggies to look into other Rec Sports clubs. “Look for a club you might like because the experience I obtained from Texas A&M Judo definitely helped me to get hired at DSS, arguably the most competitive federal law enforcement agency to join as a special agent.”
This story was originally published by Texas A&M Today.