A former Secret Service agent who protected the Obamas says she was told she didn't deserve the job during training because she's a woman

• A former Secret Service agent spoke to Insider about the criticism she faced during training.
• Evy Poumpouras says physical training requirements for females are less demanding than for males.
• She completed male training requirements after being told she didn't deserve the role.

Evy Poumpouras is a former Secret Service agent and polygraph examiner, journalist, and author of the 2020 memoir, "Becoming Bulletproof."

Poumpouras spent 12 years as a Special Agent and was part of the presidential protective division for President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama before leaving the Secret Service in 2012.

But the lessons she's learned throughout her career aren't limited to the White House. She had to overcome adversity from her very first week of training at the Secret Service Academy.

Poumpouras told Insider that some of her fellow trainees didn't think she deserved to be there because the physical requirements for women were less demanding than for men.

Poumpouras says she proved her critics wrong by completing the training at the men's standards

Poumpouras wrote in her book, "Becoming Bulletproof," that her recruit class at the Secret Service Academy was "composed almost entirely of men."

"At the time, more than 90 percent of Special Agents were male. Given that and the caliber of my peers, I knew I had to earn my place. I wanted to be seen not as a female Special Agent, but as a Special Agent. Period," she wrote.

Poumpouras told Insider that she was told "some people don't think you should be here" during her time at the academy.

"I was like, 'Well, I passed everything you all passed,'" she said. "And they brought to my attention that the physical requirements were different for women. I didn't have to do as many pull-ups and push-ups. I didn't have to run as at fast of a pace. It bothered me, because I knew even if I trained at the women's standards, people would still say something."

It was this conversation that led Poumpouras to find out what the men's standards were and to complete the training at this level.

The Secret Service careers website describes the 18-week Special Agent Training Course outside Washington, DC as "extensive training in marksmanship, control tactics, water survival skills, and physical fitness."

The website does not specify the current requirements for males and females taking the course.

Poumpouras faced criticism even after she completed the training. She told Insider that she recalled hearing someone say: "Well, she's super skinny, so she doesn't have to lift that much weight when she pulls herself up on the bar."

"There was never a question in my mind, [of] 'well, they're right.' Because they were correct," Poumpouras said. "It was true, but I just personally didn't want to live with that."

Representatives for the Secret Service did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Poumpouras learned how to project her voice from listening to Barack Obama speak

Secret Service agents are known for their commanding and confident presence. However, it wasn't just her time at the academy that taught Poumpouras how to exude these qualities.

Poumpouras told Insider that she learned to become more commanding from listening back to recordings of herself speak during polygraph interviews.

Poumpouras' role as a polygraph examiner involved interviewing criminal offenders, suspects, and gathering intelligence.

The recordings made her realize she needed to slow her speech and speak more clearly.

She was also inspired to project her voice more after listening to Barack Obama speak.

"His voice boomed in the White House," Poumpouras said of Obama.

"I think in a time where a lot of us may feel that we shouldn't be so loud or project our voice, I saw the opposite with him. And it made me think, why shouldn't I project my voice?" she added. "Why shouldn't my voice resonate and take up space in the world?"