Homeland Security, Ohio

J. Josiah Lanning

J. Josiah Lanning is a senior majoring in Security & Intelligence. During the summer of 2010 he participated in the Ohio Homeland Security Infrastructure Protection Internship program. In this program student interns are contributing to the creation of a database to catalog critical public and private assets in the State of Ohio. One goal of this effort is to provide public officials the information they need to mitigate the effects of natural and manmade disasters. Information from this database is made available to a wide range of officials, from the police officer "on the beat" to Department of Homeland Security officials in the federal government.

"This summer, I had the privilege of being an intern at Ohio Homeland Security. The staff at OHS did a phenomenal job of training me and the other summer interns on what to look for while working for them. I was able to not only learn some valuable information but was also able to see first hand exactly how Ohio Homeland Security operates.

This internship also gave me the opportunity to use information that I learned previously from Introduction to Homeland Security and Introduction to Intelligence classes. After completing this internship, I would have to say it has been one of the most productive internships I have done during my academic career. As I would like to pursue this line of work upon graduation, this internship gave me good exposure to the field as well as great networking opportunities.

Another great opportunity for me took place in August. After being on a waiting list for nearly 3-1/2 years, I received an assistance dog from Canine Companions for Independence. After two weeks of training with my new service dog, my lab/retriever mix came home with me for good. She has already become my best friend and has helped me tremendously with my independence."