{"id":60705,"date":"2026-03-05T18:50:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T23:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=60705"},"modified":"2026-03-06T13:32:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T18:32:25","slug":"dss-special-agent-hannah-patterson-14-protects-americas-athletes-at-2026-olympics-and-paralympics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2026\/dss-special-agent-hannah-patterson-14-protects-americas-athletes-at-2026-olympics-and-paralympics\/","title":{"rendered":"DSS Special Agent Hannah Patterson \u201914 protects America\u2019s athletes at 2026 Olympics and Paralympics"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/a>When Team USA\u2019s athletes took to the ice at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics in Italy last month, alumna Hannah Patterson \u201914 <\/strong>was there to keep them safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Patterson is a special agent with the U.S. Department of State\u2019s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS). She was one of more than 50 special agents assigned to protect America\u2019s athletes and teams as they trained, competed, and traveled to media appearances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The writing studies grad, who excelled as a cross-country and track athlete at EMU, worked as a field liaison officer at the ice rinks in Milan, where she safeguarded USA\u2019s figure skaters, hockey teams, and speed skaters, including gold medalists Ilia Malinin, Alysa Liu, and Jordan Stolz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPart of being there is taking time to observe the crowd and ensure everything\u2019s secure and all set-up,\u201d said Patterson. \u201cBut it\u2019s also a lot of sport-watching and cheering on Team USA and hoping the athletes you\u2019ve been with do well.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFigure skating was phenomenal. I was in awe of what they\u2019re able to do. But the crowd with the biggest atmosphere, I think, was probably men\u2019s and women\u2019s hockey. It was a very exhilarating environment. It was hard not to get caught up and feel the roar of the crowd cheering on the teams.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hannah Patterson \u201914, a special agent with the U.S. Department of State\u2019s Diplomatic Security Service, worked a \u201cpretty intense schedule\u201d at the 2026 Winter Olympics, often starting her workday at 7 a.m. to protect athletes while they trained and working well past midnight for competitions that ended late.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2018It\u2019s just one big adventure\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Born in Singapore to parents involved in community development work, Patterson moved with her family to Indonesia when she was 12. She attended Mountainview International Christian School. It was there she learned one of her classmates, nursing grad David Jantzi \u201913<\/strong>, whose parents were alumni, had his sights set on attending EMU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI ended up applying on a whim,\u201d said Patterson, \u201cand I\u2019m so grateful I did.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said one of the major draws to EMU was that its financial aid office was \u201cso proactive\u201d in telling her which grants and awards were available. \u201cEMU was such an obviously tight-knit community that cared, even before I showed up, and that just followed through over the next four years,\u201d she said. \u201cLooking back now, I wouldn\u2019t have done as well at a big state school where I would\u2019ve felt like just a number. My professors were always there for me, and I loved that about EMU.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another draw was its intercultural programs. Patterson immersed herself in the cultures of South Africa and Lesotho for a semester and said she treasures EMU\u2019s global focus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI love the sense of adventure that EMU carries with it,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s something I feel almost every day on the job. It\u2019s just one big adventure, and every day is a cross-cultural experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hannah Patterson ’14 (pictured third from left), a cross-country and track athlete at EMU, said her coaches ensured she was growing and finding her place in the world. \u201cI loved being on a team that was incredibly supportive, and I think my teammates, coaches, and track and cross-country teams really shaped me as a person, pushed me, and helped me grow. In a school that is so community-focused, it was nice to have an even tighter group to grow and dream with.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Patterson graduated with a writing studies degree in 2014 (right photo). She said her intercultural experiences in South Africa (left photo) and Lesotho, along with the mentorship she received from professors, helped shape her love of adventure. \u201cIt\u2019s a huge thing to be able to travel as much as I do and I am very grateful for it,\u201d she said.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Landing the job<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After graduating in 2014, Patterson was working at Black Sheep Coffee in Harrisonburg when she mentioned to a coworker she was seeking a career change. Unbeknownst to her, that coworker\u2019s husband was a DSS agent working at a training center in West Virginia, and she suggested that Patterson would be a good fit for the job, based on her experience growing up overseas and her love of adventure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know what I wanted to do, but I knew I wanted it to be relational,\u201d Patterson said. \u201cAlong with the daily problem-solving and micro-challenges I enjoy, I\u2019m very grateful this job exists, that I\u2019m able to do it, and that I had a lot of good mentors at EMU along the way to encourage me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Patterson worked at the training center (now known as the Foreign Affairs Security Training Center<\/a>) for a half-decade, before applying and landing a job as a DSS special agent<\/a>. She began training in July 2021 and, after a rigorous training process, officially became an agent in April 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since then, she\u2019s built up an impressive foreign service career. She worked in Kyiv, Ukraine, for three months during the war. She also served at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad for one year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last year, Patterson interviewed for her current role as an agent at the Major Events Coordination Office, which secures international events such as the G7 and G20 summits, Pan American Games, and FIFA World Cup, in addition to the Olympics and Paralympics. When she learned she had been selected to join the office, she said she was \u201cout-of-this-world thrilled.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt can be quite competitive, and I was very excited that I get to do this for the next two years (DSS agents typically switch offices every one to three years),\u201d said Patterson. \u201cNext year, we\u2019ll have the Pan American Games and the Women\u2019s World Cup, which will be in Brazil.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This month, Hannah Patterson \u201914 will help protect Team USA\u2019s athletes as they train and compete at the 2026 Winter Paralympics, held in Milan and Cortina, Italy, from March 6-15.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Patterson, who has been in Italy since Jan. 27, will also keep watch over America\u2019s athletes during the 2026 Winter Paralympics, held in Milan and Cortina from March 6-15. She\u2019ll serve as one of the special agents staffing a DSS Joint Operations Center at the U.S. Consulate in Milan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She took advantage of the four-day break in between training for the Olympics and Paralympics to explore the mountains of northern Italy. Inspired by the athletes she watched during the Olympics, she learned to ski for the first time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI never thought of this as a career option when I was going to school,\u201d said Patterson. \u201cI remember telling my poetry professor, Michael Ann Courtney<\/strong>, \u2018I\u2019m going to be a starving artist for the rest of my life,\u2019 and she told me, \u2018No, Hannah, don\u2019t worry. The world is so much bigger than that.\u2019 And it turns out she was right.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Team USA\u2019s athletes took to the ice at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics in Italy last month, alumna Hannah Patterson \u201914 was there to keep them safe. Patterson ... read more about DSS Special Agent Hannah Patterson \u201914 protects America\u2019s athletes at 2026 Olympics and Paralympics<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":302,"featured_media":60708,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[266,4516,5731,17562,5732,5730],"tags":[18850,5753,14135,18852,18854,18848,18849,14054,11433,10826,18244,18851,18853,18847,15242],"feature":[17427,17426,17241,17422],"class_list":["post-60705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-athletics","category-cross-country","category-digest","category-indoor-track","category-undergraduate-programs","tag-2026-milan-cortina-winter-olympics","tag-alumni","tag-athletics","tag-cross-country-2","tag-department-of-state","tag-diplomatic-security-service","tag-dss","tag-hannah-patterson","tag-intercultural","tag-olympics","tag-paralympics","tag-team-usa","tag-track","tag-winter-olympics","tag-writing-studies","feature-emu-home-page-feature","feature-myemu-feature","feature-news-feature","feature-news-landing-page-main-feature"],"yoast_head":"\nDSS Special Agent Hannah Patterson \u201914 protects America\u2019s athletes at 2026 Olympics and Paralympics - EMU News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2026\/dss-special-agent-hannah-patterson-14-protects-americas-athletes-at-2026-olympics-and-paralympics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"DSS Special Agent Hannah Patterson \u201914 protects America\u2019s athletes at 2026 Olympics and Paralympics - EMU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When Team USA\u2019s athletes took to the ice at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics in Italy last month, alumna Hannah Patterson \u201914 was there to keep them safe. 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