Alumni Spotlight

Full Name: Alex Reinshagen

Graduation Year: 1994

Major: Criminal Justice

What brought you to NKU for your undergraduate degree?

I selected NKU over several other colleges and universities for my undergraduate degree because of two reasons: the quality of education, and NKU’s campus. Northern’s reputation for an excellent education certainly appealed to me and was the most important factor in why I chose to become part of the Norse nation as opposed to the University of Cincinnati, Thomas More, or Ohio State. Another reason I chose NKU over others is because the campus is beautiful and provides students with a true college experience. I really loved the suburban setting, compared to UC’s location next to downtown Cincinnati, which had too many distractions and too much traffic around campus. To me, NKU was more welcoming, quiet, and friendly, so it was a great fit for me. It’s a wonderful campus.

What is your favorite memory of your time at NKU?

Of all the great memories I have of my time at Northern, I have fond memories of Wednesday night classes that I had taken during my senior year. After class ended, most of us in the class would go to Billie’s Skyline Tavern for a few beers and play billiards. REM had just released their Automatic for the People album, so we listened to that quite a lot, along with INXs new album, Kick. I’ll never forget those days! The friendships we built inside as well as outside the classroom helped us excel in our coursework because of the teamwork, trust, and encouragement we shared.

After graduating from NKU, you pursued a career as a public servant and member of the US Foreign Service. Why did you decide to pursue a career in public service?

Since I was five years old, I wanted to be a police officer. I simply wanted to help people who could not help themselves, and I wanted to keep our community safer. After serving as a deputy sheriff in South Carolina, I became a US Border Patrol Agent in Southern California and later, a Special Agent in the US Department of State / US Foreign Service. As a diplomat in the Department of State, I felt that I was serving the nation, not just a community, so the job satisfaction was fabulous. I loved my work – in each role that I served – because I truly believe that I was making a positive difference in the lives of family, friends, and strangers, and that’s why I decided to pursue a career in public service.

How did your experiences at NKU influence your career?

NKU had a major influence on my career. I originally enrolled in a two-year program in law enforcement but enjoyed my Norse experience so much that I decided to stay an additional two years and obtain my BA as well. During my senior year, I wasn’t ready to end my learning experience, so I took the GRE and applied to graduate schools. I was accepted to enroll in the University of North Carolina and the University of South Carolina Master’s in Criminal Justice Programs. Not only was I accepted by both schools, but I was also offered a Graduate Assistantship from both. Ultimately, I attended South Carolina. If it were not for NKU instilling in me that education is an important step in life, maybe I never would have gone on to graduate school, and eventually, become a member of the US Foreign Service.

What has been the best part of your career? What has been the biggest challenge?

Wow, I’ve had such a great career, it’s difficult to narrow it down to the best part. As a local law enforcement officer, I felt a tremendous sense of pride while patrolling my county, protecting, and helping people. But being a federal agent and American Diplomat in the Foreign Service, traveling around the world, protecting foreign dignitaries traveling to the US, as well as promoting the President’s foreign policy goals abroad was the best part of my career. At the same time, it was this role that was the most challenging. Uprooting and moving from country to country every few years with my wife and kids, learning a new language, figuring out how to get things done in a place I had never been to – that was quite a challenge. But worth the troubles! I’m so fortunate to have done what I’ve done.

What advice do you have for current NKU students – especially those who might want to consider a career in public service?

My advice for those considering a career in public service is to follow your instincts and be true to yourself and what you’d like to accomplish during your career. Do what you love doing, because you’re going to be working quite a lot throughout your career, and you may as well spend each day doing what you like doing and what you believe in. Also, another important step to take is to seek out those who are already in the field you want to be in and ask what the career path really entails; what is it like on a day-to-day basis, what challenges they’ve faced in their jobs, and how you should prepare so that you’re a sought-after candidate in your career choice. NKU recently won a grant from the US Department of State for a study-abroad program in support of foreign policy goals. This is an excellent opportunity for students to work overseas and see first-hand what it is like to push the President’s foreign policy agenda. I highly encourage those students interested in a career with the US Government to enroll in this program. A career in the public service can be incredibly enriching and pious. What’s more, generally a career in the public service comes with great benefits such as health and dental insurance, a retirement savings, and a pension. What’s not to like about that?

You’ve written a book – American Diplomat – about your experiences. Why did you write the book – and what do you hope people take away after reading it?

After I retired several years ago, I desperately wanted to clear my head from all the stressful thoughts and memories that kept me awake over the years. So, in order to move on with my life, and start a new chapter, I needed to come to terms with the previous one. I figured what better way to do that than putting it all down on paper. My memoir, American Diplomat, originally began as a letter to my wife and kids – a journal, so to speak, of my life as a young child and the personal and professional trajectory I chose in the field of law enforcement and diplomacy. To me, putting my thoughts on paper about the choices I made throughout my career, the places I’d traveled, investigations I conducted, and the people that I had protected was very therapeutic. Simply putting these thoughts down about what I had done and the decisions I made along the way was a relief. And along the process of writing my story, I realized that others would perhaps enjoy reading it and would indeed benefit from it. I have two main objectives. Firstly, I hope my audience gains a better appreciation for the work, and the personal lives, of law enforcement officers – whether local police or federal agents – as well as those American diplomats in the US Foreign Service posted around the world. It is these diplomats who spend their entire careers promoting the US President’s foreign policy objectives. Being a diplomat was truly a dream job that a very select few get to experience, and it was an exciting and rewarding career that I consider myself extremely fortunate to have been selected to do. But this line of work can also be very challenging because one has to move every so often to a new assignment in a new city or country. Constant moving, combined with tackling the challenges of adapting to a new country and mindset, can be very difficult, especially when you have a family that gets uprooted with each move. So, I want people to know the dedication of those serving the United States in some of the most challenging environments in the world.

My second hope is for my readers to reflect on not only who they want to be, but also how they want to be remembered. Recently, a friend of mine said my identity – and my legacy – is that of a Special Agent in the State Department. I personally don't align with this view, but it seems that many others do. I want to encourage people to look beyond titles or past occupations when defining each other, emphasizing that work is transient. Instead, I hope they value how we treat one another and the positive difference we make in the world. While I had a fulfilling career and achieved my goals, I don’t introduce myself as a former diplomat. Sure, it’s a part of my resume and shaped who I am today, but that is history. It’s literally in my past. Now, I want to be remembered as a public servant who was assigned around the world, trying to make our country safe. I also want to be remembered as an author. I still have a goal to obtain my pilot’s license, so maybe one day I can add ‘pilot’ to who I am and how I want to be remembered.

Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently during your time at NKU?

When I attended NKU in the early 90s, student dormitories were new to campus, which I thought was a great addition to the university. Since I lived in Indiana throughout my undergraduate studies, the long drive to my classes in Highland Heights eventually wore on me and took away time that I could have spent on my studies. If I could do it all over, I would have lived in the dorms on campus. This would have provided me with more time to study and conduct research, but also to make friends with others who lived there.