SAN ANTONIO — Ariana Saucedo fell in love with crime-solving at an early age.
“Since I was about seven I would sit on the couch with my mom every night,” she said. “We’d turn on investigative Discovery and I’d be watching forensic files on there.”
The 14-year-old John Marshall High School student said she fell in love with forensics. Truthfully, she lived in a law enforcement household. Her father was a police officer who worked his way up to Assistant Police Chief at the Leon Valley Police Department.
“I’ve always told my daughter to pick something that you are really, really passionate about. And if that’s going to be your career path it won’t seem like work,” he said.
The assistant chief said he never tried to impress his career upon her life. Both recalled her desire to know about his day.
“Did you put anybody in jail?” Ariana asked.
Saucedo said he shared his work stories, but with teachable lessons where offenders lacked education and guidance. He used the stories to steer his daughter on her path to becoming a solid student. But he never expected her to pursue law enforcement.
“She can tell me that she wants one thing for dinner and then later on, she changes her mind,” he said.
The benefit to having a high-ranking father is law enforcement for Ariana is getting to tag along with him to conferences and meetings. When her father graduated from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Academy, it cemented her passion and purpose.
“When I went there, I fell in love with the atmosphere. The energy there,” Ariana said.
She decided to pursue a career with the FBI. She wants to solve crimes in their forensic lab.
“I want to do forensics or anything around it,” she said.
Her desire to work with the FBI led her to enroll in the FBI Teen Academy in San Antonio.
“And what I noticed about her was her enthusiasm, she was very positive and upbeat about being selected for the class,” Roseanne Hughes said.
Hughes oversees the coordination of the one-day class. She said the class held in mid-July pulls back the curtain on the FBI. Students get a chance to learn about the bureau and its bevy of career possibilities.
“They learn about cyber-security issues, about terrorism, about white-collar crimes, complex financial crime,” Hughes said. “All the different kind of violations that we investigate.”
Ariana completed the course with a craving for more.
“I was like, oh I thought there was another presentation,” she said. “I wanted to stay and learn more.”
Her enrollment at Marshall High School is strategic. The school offers magnet opportunities in law and medical courses.
Saucedo continues to guide and support his daughter in any way possible as they build a law enforcement legacy in the family.
He’s taught Ariana to walk the walk — she volunteers to several causes on a regular basis.
Have a story about a kid doing great things in South Texas? Send Marvin an email: Greatkids@kens5.com #KENS5GreatKids