By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Long before she arrived in Athens as a Georgia women’s basketball player, Gabby Connally knew what she wanted to do. Ever since she was young and started watching cop shows, the 5-foot-6 point guard has wanted to get into federal law enforcement.
“Even before committing to UGA, I knew what I wanted to do — I’ve known it for a while now,” Connally said. “Honestly, I remember in seventh grade I knew what I wanted to do.”
With a degree in Criminal Justice already in hand before her final season with the Lady Bulldogs, Connally, who made 185 career 3-pointers at Georgia, is working on a master’s in Public Administration. Starting May 24, Connally will begin doing an internship with the U.S. Secret Service back in her hometown of San Antonio.
“I’ll be learning about counterfeit money, the process of all of that, and I’ll be seeing what agents do on a daily basis,” said Connally, who last summer did a virtual internship with the UGA Police Department.
“Most people know about the Secret Service’s role as the protective service for high public officials, but not everybody knows what they do on a daily basis, including myself. I look forward to getting to see that process, how they go about their daily work.”
Connally’s parents, Milton and Tina, were in the military, and her brother, Matthew, is in the Coast Guard. While they serve as a great inspiration in many ways, they weren’t what got her thinking about being a federal agent. No, that was shows like “Criminal Minds” and “The First 48.”
“That kind of work was always was very interesting to me, and it seemed like exciting work. Now as I’ve gotten older, that’s still what I’m into but I also believe in service,” she said. “My parents served in the military and I plan to serve in federal law enforcement, which is a different kind of service.
“It’s all service-related work and I have altruistic motives, and this is one way of me fulfilling those things that I have in mind.”
