Safe and Secure

Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, student interest in school programs dealing with careers in law, public safety, and national security is on the rise.

By Sean Cavanagh

Butler, N.J.

By almost any standard, John Palumbo's outlook on life should be bullish and free of angst. The high school junior with a talent for languages and history expects to be attending college a few years from now, preparing for a career in teaching, or even the Foreign Service. Someday, the affable 18-year-old envisions working abroad, possibly in Mediterranean Europe, or Latin America.

But on this otherwise ordinary Friday afternoon in November, entirely different visions consume him. Gas masks and stockpiled vaccines. Government quarantines and port security. Banned materials, biological detection systems, and fast-moving "response scenarios."

"Prevention is the most important method we can use to combat terrorism," Palumbo tells his small audience, looking up from hand-held notes. "It's a lot easier to prevent an act than mitigate...