EDWARD LIN/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Third-year psychology
student Derek Weisbender divides his time between
crew practice, his fraternity and work as a private
investigator.
By Christian Mignot
Daily Bruin Contributor
It would be impossible to tell from the casual smile and the Pi
Kappa Alpha fraternity t-shirt that 20-year-old Derek Weisbender is
a shadowy chameleon leading two lives.
Most of the time, Weisbender assumes the guise of a college
student. As a third-year psychology student, he works hard to
balance his studies with his daily 4 a.m. crew practice and his
duties as internal vice president of his fraternity.
But on other occasions, he slides into a spotless business suit,
picks up his shiny silver briefcase and heads off to work as a
private investigator in a world where cunning and secrecy are
prized above all else.
For the most part, Weisbender’s work surrounds
investigating automobile accidents, where he photographs the scenes
and takes down statements from witnesses. He has also tracked down
and served subpoenas to defendants who avoid going to court and
busted workers taking advantage of company compensation while
taking on jobs elsewhere.
“The best part about working as an investigator is that
the job is constantly changing,” Weisbender said while
reclining on his black leather couch with his feet perched on a
coffee table, slightly displacing past issues of Maxim.
“I am always doing something new and exciting ““
it’s not the typical desk job usually taken by college
students,” he continued.
Much of the work involves writing reports and talking to
witnesses on the phone, but Weisbender has occasionally needed to
pull some clever tricks to deal with slippery individuals.
He recalls one incident when he was asked to serve a subpoena to
a man who constantly denied his identity. In order to get the man
to acknowledge who he was and be served the subpoena, Weisbender
dressed up as a courier boy offering a free gift from a cellular
phone company. Eager to receive the gift, the man produced
identification and was greeted with a subpoena.
But situations like this are few and far between.
For a great portion of his time on the job, Weisbender works out
of his room at the Pi Kappa Alpha house, amidst his collection of
sleek polished-wood IKEA furniture and black-and-white framed
pictures of Marilyn Monroe.
Though he works from home, he makes sure to keep business
separate from pleasure, carefully avoiding the topic of work in
conversations.
“For the moment, I am doing a great deal of writing and
talking over the phone,” he said. “This job has
provided me with a start in the field of law enforcement, and I
will gradually be given harder tasks.”
A career in law enforcement was always a childhood dream of
Weisbender, who said he hopes to attend law school and to study
international affairs later in his career.
Eventually, he wants to work for the CIA in the field of
counterterrorism, but in the interim, he said he plans to work as a
police officer for the Los Angeles Police Department to gain field
experience.
“I love my country,” he said. “The best way
for me to serve my country is to protect it from bad external
forces.”