From Wright State to Secret Service: Christina Hale honored as Graduate of the Last Decade

As a Secret Service agent, Wright State University alumna Christina Hale plays a critical role in safeguarding national leaders and major events through her expertise in threat assessment and intelligence analysis.

Her journey began at Wright State, where she laid the groundwork for a career in federal law enforcement.

“I am genuinely proud of my career and of my time at Wright State,” she said. “It shaped me in who I am as an individual, as an adult and as an employee. I am very grateful.”

After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in crime and justice studies in 2017, Hale joined the Secret Service as an investigative support assistant student trainee in the Dayton Resident Office.

She collaborated with Secret Service special agents and other federal and local law enforcement partners to execute search warrants, interview subjects and prepare reports and affidavits. She also contributed to a management team that helped implement legislation making the counterfeiting of U.S. currency and credit cards a felony offense in Ohio.

“While in Dayton, I was given the opportunity to work full time with the Secret Service,” she said. “And now I’ve been there going on eight years.”

2017 graduate Christina Hale laid the groundwork for a career in federal law enforcement as a student at Wright State.

Her professional growth eventually led her to the Secret Service’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., where she works as a protective intelligence research specialist. At the Threat Assessment Desk in the Protective Intelligence and Assessment Division, she gathers and analyzes intelligence reports related to protected individuals and national special security events. She has led protective intelligence efforts for major operations, including the United Nations General Assembly, the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit and the 2024 Democratic National Convention.

In recognition of her achievements, Hale was awarded the 2025 Graduate of the Last Decade Award by the Wright State University Alumni Association..

“Receiving this award means so much to me,” she said. “And to be recognized for both the hard work I did as a student and since I’ve graduated. To be recognized as the graduate of the last decade, I genuinely don’t have words for it.”

As a student at Wright State, Hale worked with juvenile offenders in the Greene County Juvenile Court and interned at the former Wright State Research Institute’s Center for Law Enforcement Analysis and Training.

“I have Wright State to thank for giving me the opportunity to apply for my current agency,” she said. “I think I can confidently say that without Wright State I wouldn’t be sitting here in downtown Washington, D.C., working with the Secret Service.”