Aaron Vehling

As an FBI agent, Candice DeLong has stared into the eyes of some of the most infamous terrorists and killers in recent history.

While bomb experts searched the Unabomber’s Montana residence, she spoke with him. In Chicago, she followed a terrorist dubbed “the Rabbit,” as he helped build bombs and plan a jailbreak of a terrorist leader. During the 1982 random poisoning of Chicago residents by filling Tylenol capsules with potassium cyanide, she helped find the suspect of what became known as “the Tylenol Murders.”

DeLong recalled her involvement in these infamous cases Wednesday night as a part of the university’s The Forum Series. The content of her speech came from her book, “Special Agent: My Life on the Front Lines as a Woman in the FBI.”

Although assistant history professor Teresa Sanislo introduced her as a pioneer in law enforcement, DeLong began her speech saying,”I never considered myself a pioneer until tonight.”

DeLong said the audience in Zorn Arena was her largest crowd. The venue’s floor seating was full, but the bleachers were sparsely populated.

Sophomore Sarah Dose, who attended the event, said DeLong presented “an outlook for women to look up to and aspire to.”

Dose said she was inspired by the empowerment DeLong possessed to get into the FBI along with her amazing stories and accomplishments.

Silva Sergenian, a junior criminal justice and psychology major who began Wednesday night’s Forum, said she would like to become an FBI profiler.

Thanks to pioneers like DeLong, Sergenian said it now is easier for women to be accepted into the FBI.

DeLong’s father told her to go to college and get the coveted “Mrs.” degree – to get a husband. Just in case her husband died, her father recommended that she get a practical degree, too.

She earned her bachelor of science in nursing degree and began a 10-year employment in a maximum-security psychiatric hospital.

With her exposure to both victims and perpetrators, she said she wanted to know more about psychosis.

When she was at a discotheque on her 28th birthday, she met an FBI agent on assignment. The agent and DeLong became friends and he suggested she try out for the FBI.

Five months after she applied and took tests to join the FBI, DeLong was accepted to Quantico for training at age 30.

The most exciting day in her career as an FBI agent came 16 years later, when she assisted in the apprehension of Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber. DeLong and another agent worked the Unabomber case at a “perch,” a fixed FBI observation post at the main intersection in Lincoln, Mont.

Kaczynski asked for legal counsel, and the agents could no longer speak about the case with him. DeLong held a conversation about other topics as bomb experts and agents searched his rustic home.

“The Unabomber gave me cooking tips,” she said.

In the question-and-answer portion of her presentation, she was asked about profiling in the “D.C. Sniper” case last October.

She said she was involved with the case and the profile was wrong, but that did not hinder the investigation. “Profiling is an art, not a science,” she said.

DeLong helped create the TV series, “What Should You Do?”, which will begin airing April 14 on the Lifetime channel.