“I like to help,” she said. “Even on patrol, I’d always say that jail isn’t always the answer. Sometimes someone just needs to be listened to or things can be worked out. That’s just part of listening and trying to help the community that I was serving.”
She initially began NOTS in May, but was deployed to Oklahoma City for a temporary duty assignment and will go back to complete the rest of her training.
“I’m definitely thankful for all the Black women before me in the FBI,” Tai said. “Because if it didn’t start with that one, who knows how many there would be today, if any. I’m definitely grateful for all of them before me.”
Tai’s ROTC instructor at Bethune-Cookman, Maj. Earl Fillmore, Jr., never expected anything less of his former cadet and is proud of her accomplishments, as he always noticed her leadership skills.
“The big thing about her is her mental fortitude,” said Maj. Fillmore, director of military affairs at Bethune-Cookman. “She’s really resilient. She’s got all the characteristics you would want in a good FBI agent and also the characteristics you want in an Army officer.”