Ever since I was younger, I knew I wanted to work as a forensic scientist. My strengths in school were math and science, and I’ve always been a bit of a computer geek. Watching the scientists on CSI & Forensic Files use math, science, and computers to help solve crimes helped me realize that’s exactly what I wanted to do. So how did I go from watching it on TV to doing it in real life? Here’s my story, from high school to now…

High School

It was probably about sophomore year of high school when I really solidified my choice to go into forensic science, so I had to look into which classes would be best to take. My school required 3 years each of science and math, but I chose to take 4 years of each to give myself a leg up.

Junior year is when I started looking into colleges that offered forensic science programs. I had gone past the University of New Haven with my mom a bunch of times on our trips into West Haven and Milford CT, so I was really excited to learn that this college I saw all the time was one of the top forensics & criminal justice schools!

UNH was the first school I applied to…. and the only one I applied to. Don’t do this! I don’t know why I felt so sure that I’d get in, but I never actually applied to any other colleges. After a while (and my guidance counselor telling me I needed a backup school), I started the application to one of the state schools, but I received my acceptance letter to UNH before I finished that application. Again, don’t do what I did! There’s no guarantee you’ll get accepted into your first choice school, so please take the time to apply to multiple schools so you have options.

Undergrad

I graduated from high school in 2008 and went straight into college from there. I never really thought about taking a gap year between high school and college; looking back, that wasn’t the time that I needed one personally. Some people are so tired/burnt out with school after high school that they need some time before going to undergrad, and that’s totally valid. If you need that time to figure out what you want to do (or if you even want to go to college or not), take the time. Once you’re out of school and working full-time, no one will really care if you took a gap year or not. All that matters is that you did what was best for you.

I started at UNH as a forensic science major and was accepted into the forensics living learning community they offered for freshman. That was a wing of one dorm building where everyone was the same major, and they would bring in tutors to help and offer field trips just for us. When I learned that this was an option I could apply for, my first thought was “that’s going to be a bunch of nerds and I want to have fun so I’m not applying” (I shouldn’t have thought that way, I’m just being honest about how I felt at the time). Well, I got in anyway. Not sure how or why I was chosen when I never technically applied, but I’m so glad I was because I met my best friends to this day because of living there.

Sophomore year was the time to choose which concentration you’d be working towards: biology, chemistry, or physics. I thought bio was just ok, I honestly couldn’t stand physics, so chemistry is what I chose (plus I was good at it). Halfway through sophomore year, multiple professors told us there were a lot of forensics majors going through school at the time thanks to the CSI effect (people who watched and loved the show, and wanted to go to school for forensics because of it… aka me) They said we needed to do something to make ourselves stand out, so me and a bunch of my classmates decided to double major in chemistry. It would only take 4 extra chemistry classes instead of 4 electives, and we’d come out with 2 degrees without having to add any extra time. Those were the hardest chemistry classes I ever took. I even had to drop one (Advanced Inorganic Chemistry) and retake it the next year because I would’ve failed it even after the curve *ughhh*

The summer between junior & senior year, I did an unpaid internship at the state Forensics Lab (my program required either an internship or research project). I got to help in the toxicology department, which really helped me solidify the fact that I wanted to work in that area. There was also a controlled substances department nearby, but I wasn’t interested in looking at the drugs themselves. I also saw the amount of work that went into testing samples: everything from receiving the samples all the way through completing lab reports with the results listed. Those TV shows are lying! There’s no way you’re getting results out the same day. If you have the opportunity to get an internship in the field you’re interested in, I definitely recommend it! Even if it’s just for the summer, it’ll give you exposure to the field and you can really tell if it’ll be something you want to do as a career.

While in undergrad, I joined a sorority and other clubs on campus, tried to have a social life and still keep my grades up, all while also figuring out how to balance things on my own without my parents helping me through it. Looking back, I probably could have gotten better grades if my time management had been better. I also didn’t figure this out until the end of junior year/beginning of senior year, but I was MUCH more productive when I actually left my room and went to do homework in the quiet section of the library – who would have known lol. I always did fine doing homework at home in my room, and I wanted to spend time with my friends while studying since most of us were the same major anyway, but there were times that I had to do it on my own, and it took me a little too long to realize that.

After Undergrad

I graduated from UNH in 2012 with two Bachelors degrees thanks to that double major: one in forensic science, and one in chemistry. I knew I wanted to work in forensics, but the waitlist for the CT State Forensics Lab was really long, so I branched out and applied for chemistry positions too. I got a job as a quality control chemist in September of that year. Even though it wasn’t forensics specifically, I knew having lab experience would help me transition into a forensics lab later on.

I worked there for about 2 years before realizing it wasn’t really for me, and I wanted to get into a forensics job. Although I could have waited for an entry level position to open up at a lab, I didn’t want the last 2 years to go to waste (they wouldn’t have, but I didn’t realize that at the time). I thought if I had a Master’s degree, I could find a job easier and maybe jump over the entry-level position and move straight into a more advanced one.

I started looking up graduate programs and the requirements for them. I knew I’d need to take the GRE but I didn’t want to study full time while also working full time. I found an app that made studying into a game, and played that a lot as my way of studying. (Maybe don’t do this? Take the time to actually study for real, join a study group, find a tutor, buy the book… do more than just play a phone game when studying for a test as big as the GRE) I also had this mentality that since school had always come pretty easy for me, I didn’t need to study too hard. Even through undergrad when I struggled with different classes, I chalked it up to the fact that I was doing too many things at once and didn’t dedicate enough time to that class – not the fact that I didn’t actually understand the material and needed to ask for help.

I ended up taking the GRE twice, with my scores increasing by only 2 points the second time. While I kept looking into which Master’s programs I wanted to apply to, I decided to take advantage of the tuition reimbursement offered at my job and get a couple core classes out of the way early. I took four graduate classes at SCSU while working full time as a chemist -props to anyone doing that, it’s freaking rough! I was driving 45min-1 hr to work from 6am-2:30pm, then about 1hr to get to my 4pm class, then about 35 min to get back home after 7pm. Those were longggg days, but looking back they helped me realize that I could do it, and that if I was willing to do all that for classes, then I was ready for grad school.

While taking those grad classes, I applied to UCONN’s chemistry program. I thought as someone who had lived in CT my whole life and had pretty good grades the whole time, I’d get in for sure. I didn’t get in. I felt like such a failure when I wasn’t accepted- that was probably the first rejection I had gotten in a school setting, and it hurt really badly. It made me question if I even wanted to go to grad school, if I was smart enough, if there was something wrong with what I had done in school leading up to the point… lots of questioning. I took some time to look back at the work I had done to get to that point and the fact that I busted my butt to work full time and take grad level classes (and managed to get good grades in them!), and realized that there wasn’t anything wrong with me, UCONN just wasn’t where I was meant to be.

I kept looking into other Master’s programs, and learned about a forensic toxicology program starting at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. I felt very unsure about moving away from CT, but also felt it like it was time for me to try something new. I said a prayer, submitted my application, and got accepted!!

Grad School

I left my chemist position in July 2015 and moved to Philly for grad school that August. This was a full year program, meaning it included summer classes and only a short break for Christmas. I wasn’t sure what to expect with grad school: I knew it would be more independent than undergrad, but I thought there would be more support than there was. My classes were fine, but the thesis and research were very stressful for me. It was a brand new program where they were trying things for the very first time, and we were kind of like the guinea pigs. I have no problem working independently on projects and schoolwork, but as the program went on, I didn’t feel very supported or that I could ask for help when I needed it. (I have a problem with asking for help so if I get to that point, it’s serious)

One example would be when we had to take Pharmacology classes. The course schedule was lined up so that we ended up taking Advanced Pharmacology the first year, and General Pharmacology the second year… which makes no sense. I had never taken that subject before, so getting thrown straight into an advanced class when I never learned the basics was a real struggle for me. I had done that to myself with the grad classes I took while working full time- I took an advanced biochemistry class when I had never taken a general class. The difference was that I knew I’d be teaching myself the material since I chose that class myself. I also had more time to study and teach myself since that was the only difficult class I had at the time. With the pharmacology class, we still had other tough classes at the same time, and I didn’t expect I’d be teaching myself the material with a program that was already set up. I finally realized I needed to ask for help and find more YouTube videos to teach me the material, and came out with a pretty decent grade. (Once I took the general class the next year, I understood SOOO much more and felt frustrated all over again that we had to take them out of order, but whatever, I passed)

I saved money from my chemist position so I could get through the first semester of grad school without having to work- I needed to see what it was like living on my own and going to school full time without having to worry about a job at the same time. My parents helped me through that semester when I really needed it, but I did everything I could to not ask for help (see a pattern here?) I ended up maxing out my credit cards during that time and felt super stressed financially, so I knew I needed a job ASAP. After feeling the stress of the first semester of grad school and knowing there was much more stress to come, I knew I wanted a relatively easy job where I didn’t really have to think. I got a job at Sephora in the mall nearby, which was a great way for me to not have to think as much and I was able to express my creative side with makeup and skincare. If I had gotten a job in some sort of science position like a tutor or TA, I don’t know if I would have made it through the rest of the program. I had to look at what I needed for myself, and be ok with the fact that I was doing it my way and not how other people may have done it.

After 2 years of harddd work, tears, stress, and wanting to quit like every other day, I made it through grad school and presented my Master’s thesis on August 31, 2017. That means I had earned 3 degrees by age 26. I was very proud of myself for that accomplishment, but I also looked back and felt a little embarrassed. I was always “one of the smart kids” growing up, but I knew I didn’t get the best grades through undergrad and grad school. It almost made me feel like a fraud that I earned those degrees, like I didn’t really deserve them since I didn’t do it with perfect grades, no stress, and no help from others. Please don’t think this way! It’s taken me years to break out of that (and I’m still not totally over it), but there is nothing wrong with asking for help when you need it. Getting help on a project doesn’t mean you’re any less deserving of it.

After Grad School

Thanks to connections from my master’s program, I learned about a local forensics lab where some of my professors worked. I didn’t apply right away (probably that whole “I don’t need your help” issue holding me back again), but looked around for other forensics jobs. By November/December, I realized I had to get over myself and accept the fact that I had a connection to the lab -aka a way to get my foot in the door- and decided to apply. I got the job in February 2018, and have been working as an analyst in a forensic toxicology lab ever since!

It still amazes me that I went from being a kid watching scientists on TV to an actual scientist doing that same work in real life. There are definitely ups and downs when it comes to working in science and it can absolutely get stressful at times, but taking a step back and thinking about the people behind the results really brings it back for me. Whether it’s a doctor making sure their patient is taking the right medications, a court wondering if the driver in a car accident was drunk or not, a family wondering what drugs were in their family member’s system when they passed away… they all need the truth, and working as a forensic scientist means I have the responsibility of doing my job as best as I can to get them those answers.

Would I have changed anything about my path? No, I honestly believe that I wouldn’t be the person I am today if I had made different decisions in my past

• I could have gone to a cheaper in-state school for undergrad and then tranferred those credits over to UNH later, but I wouldn’t have gotten the full experience and may not have met my closest friends
• I could have gone to the library to do homework and study sooner in undergrad, but I think getting those lower grades were the thing that helped me realize I needed to ask for help and try something new, and that it’s ok if classes don’t come easily for me
• I could have gone from undergrad straight into grad school, but honestly I think I needed that time. I was mentally drained after undergrad, and probably wouldn’t have done well in grad school if I had gone straight through
• I could have given up after not being accepted into UCONN, but then I never would have known if there was another option for me, and never would have known how much of a badass I can actually be

It’s important to look back on hard work you did, especially during tough and stressful times. It’s no accident that you’re in the position you’re in! I didn’t just fall into a forensics job, I put in YEARS of work to get here and I’m damn proud of it.

I’m still learning to brag on myself more and share all that I’ve accomplished. I know my story will help others, and it’s important that I don’t keep that to myself, even if it makes me feel a little weird. If this helped you at all, please let me know!