Custom made

He runs a federal division with more than 62,000 employees, and a budget the size of Iceland's gross domestic product.

But the path to U.S. Customs and Border Protection commissioner, in addition to being President Barack Obama's appointee to the White House Office of National Drug Control, began in Tampa for Gil Kerlikowske.

It officially started with an associate's degree from St. Petersburg College — then St. Petersburg Junior College -- while Kerlikowske was an officer with the St. Petersburg Police Department. He later earned a bachelor's and master's degree from the University of South Florida.