I am currently pursuing my bachelors in biology with a minor in psychology. I plan to go to grad school and get my masters in forensics to fine tune my understanding of biology. My end career goal is to work in one of the FBI laboratories, helping to collect and analyze biological samples and specimens from various crimes to bring justice to criminals. Science has always been my favorite subject since childhood. I loved the science fair and I loved learning about all the different applications science had in the world. As a child I wanted to follow in my mother's footsteps and work in the veterinary field because I loved how she was was able to use science to help make people happy by helping their beloved pets. Service has been a value instilled in my family since childhood and it has followed me into adulthood, as I have always desired to help others in my everyday life and I wanted to do it through my combined love for science. When I was older I discovered the T.V. show Bones, where a forensic anthropologist works with an FBI agent to use the bones of deceased victims to solve crimes and bring justice to victims. It totally changed the way I wanted to pursue science as a career. I wanted to work with forensics to help solve crimes and bring justice to people who have been the victim of a crime like murder. I have also loved solving puzzles and it's still a pastime my mother and I will partake in together after a long day. Science, especially forensic science within the application of criminal justice has some similarities to solving a puzzle. You are given many little pieces; a blood splatter, a hair or fiber, scraping under a fingernail, a latent print pulled from a door handle. It's up to a forensic scientist to find and gather all of these samples and bits, analyze them, and ultimately use them to build a story and produce a final outcome that can bring justice to victims and put away a criminal. STEM, especially science has brought a cutting edge advantage to the way that we are able to solve crimes. Where we used to only be able to rely on superficial identifiers like fingerprinting and footprints to provide a description of criminal, we can know go deeper into the genetic makeup of a person to help build the profile of a criminal. It has increased not only our ability to solve a crime, but also our accuracy in putting away the right people. Forensics has been one of the big catalyst in this sense. I like to think I was born for a career in STEM, and I've seen throughout my life how that genuine love for the field and my own personality have pushed me towards finding my little niche and a career in the field that encompasses all the things I love and am passionate about.

Science has always been my favorite subject since childhood. I loved the science fair and I loved learning about all the different application science had in the world. As a child I wanted to follow in my mother's footsteps and work in the veterinary field because I loved how she was was able to use science to help make people happy by helping their beloved pets. Service has been a value instilled in my family since childhood and it has followed me into adulthood, as I have always desired to help others in my everyday life and I wanted to do it through my combined love for science. When I was older I discovered the T.V. show Bones, where a female forensic anthropologist works with an FBI agent to use the bones of deceased victims to solve crimes and bring justice to victims. It totally changed the way I wanted to pursue science as a career. I wanted to work with forensics to help solve crimes and bring justice to people who have been the victim of a crime like murder. Science has brought a cutting edge advantage to the way that we are able to solve crimes. Where we used to only be able to rely on superficial identifiers like fingerprinting and footprints to provide a description of criminal, we can know go deeper into the genetic makeup of a person to help build the profile of a criminal. It has increased not only our ability to solve a crime, but also our accuracy in putting away the right people. Forensics has been one of the big catalyst in this sense. I am currently pursuing my bachelors in biology with a minor in psychology. I plan to go to grad school and get my masters in forensics to fine tune my understanding of biology. My end career goal is to work in one of the FBI laboratories, helping to collect and analyze biological samples and specimens from various crimes to bring justice to criminals. The FBI's motto is Fidelity, bravery and Integrity and their main mission to protect and uphold the constitution of the United States, in order to protect all the people that consider this place home. It is a motto of life dedication and service that I have always valued and respected since childhood and the ability to be able to use science to help perform such a duty is the perfect culmination of the things I love the most in life. This year marked the 50th year of the first female special agents to graduate from the FBI academy. As a participant of the FBI Honors Internship program, it was amazing to read the stories of so many impressive woman who paved the way for other females to work in the Bureau. I have spent this summer surrounded by amazing female interns who are honored to have the opportunity to do what we do. The celebration also stood as a reminder though that the acceptance of women in various career roles is still progressing and equality hasn't been reached yet. I have had amazing professors as a female student in the sciences, but many have been men and so are many of my fellow students. I feel that as a women I have an innate sense of empathy and care for others and to bring that aspect into the field as science is an honor. It is so important that more females feel that the field of science, especially criminal science is open to them and they will find support there.

I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and currently attend a school affiliated with my church because I believe in the standards of my church and wanted to ensure that my college career was spent surrounded by people who believe in those same values. Some of the standards members of my church live by are abstaining from doing drugs and drinking alcohol and other hot beverages like herbal tea and coffee because of the effects that caffeine and alcohol can have on our bodies. I believe in modesty and wear clothes that do not reveal above my knee or my shoulders and midriff. We try to avoid using vulgar language like cursing or using the God's name in vain. We try to live a life of service and help others whenever we have extra because we are meant to share our surplus with the less fortunate. I have lived by these standards since my parent's converted to the church when I was a child and these standards have slowly became things I have actively chosen to make a part of my life as I have grown up and become more independent, this included choosing a school where people would support my same standards. In fact that was one of the only reasons I applied to the school that I did and when I got accepted and chose to attend, I felt that I wasn't really sure of my decision to attend, because it truly felt like I had based it around one factor. I always knew I would never waiver in the way I chose to live my life to worship and honor God because of my faith in him, so a part of me wondered whether I really needed to go to a school where everyone would live like me. But I have met some of the most amazing people who have made me a stronger person in the church and my standards by lifting me up instead of holding me back or encouraging me to stray from those beliefs. Additionally these same people have told me that I have done the same for them. I know that God has a plan for everyone and I know that me attending the school I did was part of his plan, because I needed to meet the most amazing friends and professors who have made my life better. My choices have also led to me participating in an amazing opportunity. This summer I was accepted into the FBI Honors Internship program. I had to go through an extensive background check that looked into whether I had participated in activities like drinking or drugs or other illegal things. I could say with confidence that I never had participated in any sort of thing and I had great people who could affirm the decisions I had made to abstain from doing anything like that. It was a great feeling to see how my choices in my life that were encouraged and formed by my faith in God helped me to achieve an amazing opportunity that will fast track my career. I have always believed in the standards I live by because I know God loves me and wants me to live a happy and safe life. But having the opportunity to see why I live by those choices, because they bless me with the ability to meet people who change my life and participate in opportunities that will help me achieve my dreams have helped me strengthen my faith in God and the plan he has for me.