All it took for me to know forensics would be my future career was a one-semester elective class in high school. Rather than a dramatic tale culminating in a sense of justice or even a lifelong childhood dream, I simply fell in love with the methodical approach of forensics to problem-solving, in which piecing together a mystery could catch criminals and even save lives. Always gravitating toward math and science growing up, I resonated with the logical and analytical reasoning that forensics requires. Forensics is based in STEM, and a scientific approach is vital when drawing out the facts of evidence to support a verdict beyond reasonable doubt. Thus, as my passion for forensics grew, I found a way to apply my aptitude for STEM. Once I knew I wanted to pursue forensics, I enrolled in the Biological Sciences program at the University of Connecticut. It is an interdisciplinary major combining the Molecular and Cell Biology (MCB), Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB), and Physiology and Neurobiology (PNB) departments. Based on my major, I had presumed I would pursue forensic biology or DNA analysis. Accordingly, I thought MCB courses would be the most vital foundation to my career, but I have found the most inspiration from my EEB courses. This past semester I took Big Data Science for Biologists, a bioinformatics course which taught how to use R and Python to analyze biological big data. Part of the course was the "why" of big data, where each week the class would read an article or two about an application of big data to different scientific fields. As the course was taught by a professor studying conservation, many articles were focused on wildlife and ecology. After learning about conservation of wildlife, like marine megafauna, and the effect of pollutants, such as light pollution, I realized how much of an impact research has on environmental policy and conservation efforts. I became interested in how I could contribute to conservation, while still pursuing my passion for forensics. Forensics and conservation, what a dream combination of fields. Discovering wildlife forensics as a career path immediately felt right to me, as it blended my strengths in scientific investigation with the sense of purpose I find in protecting wildlife. Over the last few decades the field of wildlife forensics has grown into a global effort to combat poaching. I aspire for a position in a wildlife forensics laboratory that employs DNA analysis to identify protected, endangered species and geographic origins to trace poachers. In doing so, I hope to use my STEM background in forensic work to help preserve vulnerable ecosystems across the globe.