When Team USA’s athletes took to the ice at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics in Italy last month, alumna Hannah Patterson ’14 was there to keep them safe.
Patterson is a special agent with the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS). She was one of more than 50 special agents assigned to protect America’s athletes and teams as they trained, competed, and traveled to media appearances.
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’s figure skaters, hockey teams, and speed skaters, including gold medalists Ilia Malinin, Alysia Liu, and Jordan Stolz.
“Part of being there is taking time to observe the crowd and ensure everything’s secure and all set-up,” said Patterson. “But it’s also a lot of sport-watching and cheering on Team USA and hoping the athletes you’ve been with do well.”
“Figure skating was phenomenal. I was in awe of what they’re able to do. But the crowd with the biggest atmosphere, I think, was probably men’s and women’s 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.”
Hannah Patterson ’14, a special agent with the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, worked a “pretty intense schedule” 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.
‘It’s just one big adventure’
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 ’13, whose parents were alumni, had his sights set on attending EMU.
“I ended up applying on a whim,” said Patterson, “and I’m so grateful I did.”
She said one of the major draws to EMU was that its financial aid office was “so proactive” in telling her which grants and awards were available. “EMU was such an obviously tight-knit community that cared, even before I showed up, and that just followed through over the next four years,” she said. “Looking back now, I wouldn’t have done as well at a big state school where I would’ve felt like just a number. My professors were always there for me, and I loved that about EMU.”
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’s global focus.
“I love the sense of adventure that EMU carries with it,” she said. “That’s something I feel almost every day on the job. It’s just one big adventure, and every day is a cross-cultural experience.”
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. “I 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.”
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. “It’s a huge thing to be able to travel as much as I do and I am very grateful for it,” she said.
Landing the job
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’s 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.
“I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I knew I wanted it to be relational,” Patterson said. “Along with the daily problem-solving and micro-challenges I enjoy, I’m very grateful this job exists, that I’m able to do it, and that I had a lot of good mentors at EMU along the way to encourage me.”
Patterson worked at the training center (now known as the Foreign Affairs Security Training Center) for a half-decade, before applying and landing a job as a DSS special agent. She began training in July 2021 and, after a rigorous training process, officially became an agent in April 2022.
Since then, she’s 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.
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 “out-of-this-world thrilled.”
“It 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),” said Patterson. “Next year, we’ll have the Pan American Games and the Women’s World Cup, which will be in Brazil.”
This month, Hannah Patterson ’14 will help protect Team USA’s athletes as they train and compete at the 2026 Winter Paralympics, held in Milan and Cortina, Italy, from March 6-15.
Patterson, who has been in Italy since Jan. 27, will also keep watch over America’s athletes during the 2026 Winter Paralympics, held in Milan and Cortina from March 6-15. She’ll serve as one of the special agents staffing a DSS Joint Operations Center at the U.S. Consulate in Milan.
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.
“I never thought of this as a career option when I was going to school,” said Patterson. “I remember telling my poetry professor, Michael Ann Courtney, ‘I’m going to be a starving artist for the rest of my life,’ and she told me, ‘No, Hannah, don’t worry. The world is so much bigger than that.’ And it turns out she was right.”
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