Shays Scholarship

Growing up, I excelled in every subject in school. No matter what class I was in, I was luckily able to find that everything just sort of made sense to me. I understood what I learned and I never really had any questions. Just like the rest of the subjects I was taught, the science lessons were easy for me. However, that class was the only one out of the rest that made me think and at times left me wondering. I might have understood what I was being taught, but that didn't stop my mind from wandering off into a whole new world of questions related to science. I learned about the solar system, but I wanted to know how the universe was created and everything that could be out there. I learned about human anatomy, but I wanted to learn how the human body is capable of doing the amazing things it can do. I learned about DNA, but I especially wanted to know what it can reveal, and that's where I began to dive into the world of forensics. Since sciences of every kind seemed to take hold of my curious mind, I decided that I wanted to pursue science in the future. I've always dreamt of being a scientist who studies the universe and all of its unknown parts, or a scientist who discovers a cure for a deadly disease. In recent years, though, I have decided that I want to go into a career in forensic science over all other branches of science. Forensics was introduced to me through the glorified crime shows that everyone watches, but it sparked my curiosity. There was something about it that really caught my attention, and so I knew I wanted to look deeper into the world of criminology and forensics. Since learning about it, I have done numerous school projects on it and have learned a lot. This knowledge only inspires me to learn more about it in the future. The possibilities of forensics are what make it so exciting to me. It allows for investigation, which permits a curious mind to be fulfilled. With forensics, mysteries are solved, and crime scenes can be completely reconstructed from a single trace of human DNA. The ability to form conclusions from even the smallest pieces of evidence through works of chemistry and biology is amazing. A single thread from an article of clothing or a skin cell found on the victim can put a criminal behind bars because of the forensic techniques that we have today. Not only is the science itself impressive, but it will also allow me to give back to the community in some way. I've always loved helping people, and so I want to go into a career that will allow me to do that every day. Forensic science interests me in that it will allow me to mix both of my passions into one. It crosses science with giving back to communities. I will be able to investigate and discover using biology and chemistry, but I will also be helping solve crimes and get dangerous criminals off of the streets, thus making communities safer and better places to live. I strongly wish to make some sort of impact on the world, even if it is something as small as contributing to solving crimes. Having the opportunity to do so while also diving into something that I have a true passion for makes me extremely excited for my future in pursuing forensic science.