McKnight ’98 puts forth Olympian effort at Games, helps keep U.S. athletes safe

 

Becky McKnight ’98 has joined an exclusive list of standout Culver Olympians, only she did it by playing a decidedly different kind of defense.

McKnight has served more than 15 years as a special agent with the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, working primarily in embassies in Central and West Africa. The job requires her to move frequently, typically every two to three years. She spent the past two years working in Milan as the deputy U.S. Olympic security coordinator for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“I think I got the job mainly based on having a variety of experience within Diplomatic Security,” she said.

One of the first challenges she faced in her new position was learning Italian. She already spoke French, and some Spanish, from growing up in San Antonio, Texas, so those skills helped her to learn Italian. After seven months of Italian language training in Washington, D.C., she moved to Italy in April 2024 with her husband and two youngest children, now 10 and 8.

Her next challenge was learning the sprawling geography of the Milan-Cortina Games, the most spread-out in Olympic history, covering 8,500 square miles. They were the first Games to span multiple regions and have two host cities: Milan and Cortina, which are about 250 miles apart by road. There were 25 venues divided into four clusters.

The most distant venue, Anterselva, where the biathlon was held, was a six-hour drive from Milan. McKnight and another Diplomatic Security Service colleague arrived two years early to study each location, meet local police, monitor venue construction and establish relationships with Italian authorities and organizing-committee security and cluster managers. They went back to each location several times to strengthen their contacts.

“So that when everybody hit the ground, we already had those contacts there,” McKnight said. “It was our job to ensure that the agents who would then come in to ensure the security of Team USA would have everything they need to do so.”

 

 

Through OSAC, a DSS-led public-private partnership that provides security, threat intelligence and logistical support for U.S. private sector entities overseas, McKnight worked closely with major American companies operating at the Games, including NBC, Coca-Cola, Uber, Airbnb and other companies.

“We work closely with NBC to make sure the athletes get from their venues to the studios safely,” McKnight said.

Extensive tabletop exercises with Italian authorities prepared the team for the unpredictable: mountain-road bus accidents, avalanches, cyber failures and online threats. They were prepared for any problems.

Because many marquee events were timed for American television audiences, competitions often began at 7 p.m., with her days stretching past midnight. The long hours didn’t diminish the thrill of watching the Games. She especially enjoyed the bobsled.

“It was fun going to that venue and running into one of the organizing committee’s security managers and both of us had huge smiles because this is everything we’ve been working for,” she said.

She also managed to catch speed skating, short track speed skating and figure skating. She said some sports are easier to see on TV, but figure skating is even more exciting in person.  She brought her younger children to see the gold-medal winning American hockey team play against Italy in an early-round game and her husband brought them to the semifinal game.

“They took a huge U.S. flag and took a lot of photos. They really, really enjoyed it,” she said.

She said her children have enjoyed visiting places they’re learning about in Roman history, seeing “their eyes light up” at the Colosseum. Seeing Italy through their eyes, McKnight said, “has been very educational and fulfilling.”

McKnight traces her international career path to her days at Culver, where she met students from around the world.

“Culver opened my eyes to interacting more with people from different countries,” she said.

She said moving from remote northern Indiana to the University of Texas, one of the nation’s biggest schools in a state capital, was a shock. But she said Culver prepared her for college life.

“I definitely had better study habits than all of my friends at UT,” she said. “College wasn’t as difficult because some of the classes I took at Culver were pretty hard.”

 

She fondly remembers Dan Cowell, a Culver mentor instructor in wellness and an athletic trainer. She tore her anterior cruciate ligament playing basketball as a freshman and instead became a trainer.

“He helped me get back on my feet, literally,” she said.

She also fondly remembers the late master biology instructor Steve Winet, Ph.D., and the late Shakespeare instructor Rex Boswell.

She keeps in touch with some classmates, including her four-year roommate Liz (Rubini) Green ’98. She tries to make it back for reunions. While in Milan, she also has had the pleasure of reconnecting with classmate Mike Ennis. He's a college professor in Bolzano, in northern Italy, and their families have been able to get together every few months.

If people ask her about what it's like attending Culver Academies, an elite leadership-oriented boarding school, she tells them it is like going to college early.

“I learned a lot of independence. I learned how to plan my schedule and my life. It hyper prepared me to go to college anywhere,” she said.

When she got to the University of Texas, she knew she wanted to go into public service and to work overseas. She joined the Peace Corps expecting to be assigned to Latin America. Instead, she was sent to Mauritania in Northwest Africa, where three-quarters of the country is covered by the Sahara Desert.

“I wanted someplace warm. They sent me somewhere hot,” she said.

She then returned to the University of Texas to earn a master of public affairs. She learned about the Diplomatic Security Service while working for the U.S. Department of Transportation in the Office of the Inspector General’s Office. She applied online and got the job. Her first assignment was serving on the Secretary of State’s Protective Detail, followed by her first posting in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Today, she describes her job simply: “I provide security for U.S. diplomats who are stationed overseas at our embassies and consulates.”

Her next assignment, after she learns Portuguese, will take her back to providing security at an embassy in southern Africa.

“It’s what I miss,” she said. “I like running and managing large teams.”

Her message to Culver students or alumni who dream of international work: Reach out. She’s eager to help others interested in working for the State Department.