How has God and my personal faith helped me in my life? God has helped me in my life by leading me to want to grow my faith to him. He has blessed me with my friends that do not judge me, do not tear me down, do not try to push me away from God, and help me to want to grow closer to him. I previously had friends that would make me feel bad about myself. They would make fun of me for what I liked to eat, wear, read, do for activities, and more. When I started feeling bad about myself, I felt like I was moving away from Him. I started to distance myself from those friends and found new people that were better. They way these friends have helped me is beyond words explain. My friends helped me grow my faith. How did they help? I met my best friend when I started marching band. We are in 4-H, the same shop class and we worked at the same coffee shop for a little while with my twin sister. Her family is religious, and they have gifted me a daily devotional book that I have read, and I will continue to read. She specifically has helped me with praying. I do not always remember to pray but I try to morning and night. When I do pray, I feel like I am not saying the right words, or like I am not talking to God correctly. One night, I called my best friend almost crying from a situation. I was praying for my boyfriend because he was in an accident. I felt like I was not praying enough or correctly. She explained to me that God knows what I am praying for. He knows what my heart is trying to say. When I need to pray, I need to not think with my heart, not my head. How will my faith assist me with my career? The career I am pursuing is going to be a hard one as a crime scene detective. This is going to be a job where it is going to take a toll on my mental state. I am going to need to believe and continue my faith in God to be able to do my job. I will have to see crime scenes that are going to be gruesome and make me question my beliefs, but if I continue to trust in God and pray, he will help me through the day and help me to be more grateful for all God has blessed me with. He will help guide me to find the answers I need. I will pray for the families that are needing the answers. This career is going to be demanding and hard on my mind and body, but I believe that if I continue to grow my faith in God and trust in him, I will be able to succeed in my career and my life. In conclusion God has helped me in my life by leading me to want to grow my faith to him. He has blessed me with my friends that do not judge me, tear me down, or push me away from God. They help me to want to grow closer to him. They all want me to better my faith in God, which will assist me in my career by helping my mental and physical health if I continue to trust in the Lord and let him lead me to answer all the questions I will be asking.

How do I plan to use my degree to help those in the community who are in need? I am planning to go to West Virginia University to major as a Forensics Examiner and possibly minor in Psychology or communications. Obtaining this major at West Virginia University can help me to have a job as a detective, examiner, or investigator either at local, state, or federally right after graduation. In my last 2 years of college I want to intern with the FBI if that would be available then go on to working as a Crime Scene Investigator with the FBI. If that did not work out for any reason then I will work state wide. First I have chosen to work in law enforcement, specifically as a forensic examiner, because I want to make a difference in the way cases are handled. I want to help solve murder and missing person cases by making sure all evidence is collected. Anything you may think is not evidence can be. Evidence goes along with the saying "innocent until proven guilty". You can look at a scene and say there is a bullet casing, a book, a cup of water, and the curtains on the window. There is blood on everything except for the curtain, so what many people may do is look at it, they don't see anything on it so they think it is clean and does not need to be collected. Later on you find out that the curtain was a crucial part of your evidence because it was covered in hair, skin cells, blood, and more DNA from the suspect but the victim's family threw the curtains away not knowing any difference. I want to be the investigator that does not look past those pieces. I know that anything and everything can be evidence. In 2020 when we had the lock down, like many kids, my siblings and I were in cyber school. Being cyber I got my assignments done quickly leaving me to have a lot of free time. To fill this time I began researching true crime. While researching, I felt angry hearing that police missed evidence or looked past suspects or closed the case without answers. I understand that jobs of police officers and detectives are hard but I felt affected by the outcome which made me think about the families that were affected. So I started thinking how I could help and I found Crime Scene Investigation. I am currently enrolled in the Lenape Tech Law Enforcement program. Through my shop class I'm on the skills USA crime scene investigation team and we won first for local in 2023 and 2024 and third place for districts in 2023. We are hoping to get further this year. In conclusion I plan to obtain a degree in forensics so I can then use it to help families in need. I want to make a difference in my community or state and help those hurting families to get closure and not have so much hurt in their hearts when someone selfishly, cowardly, and carelessly takes the life of their loved one.

Why am I choosing the field of law enforcement? Why does anyone choose this field? We choose this field because we want to change the world, change peoples' lives, save peoples' lives. We choose this field because we want to make a difference in the world. We want to change our lives by helping others. So why have I chosen law enforcement? I have chosen to work in law enforcement, specifically as a forensic examiner, because I want to make a difference. I want to help solve murder and missing person cases by making sure all evidence is collected. Anything you may think is not evidence can be. Evidence goes along with the saying "innocent until proven guilty". You can look at a scene and say there is a bullet casing, a book, a cup of water, and the curtains on the window. There is blood on everything except for the curtain, so what many people may do is look at it, they don't see anything on it so they think it is clean and does not need to be collected. Later on you find out that the curtain was a crucial part of your evidence because it was covered in hair, skin cells, blood, and more DNA from the suspect but the victim's family threw the curtains away not knowing any difference. I want to be the investigator that does not look past those pieces. I know that anything and everything can be evidence. How did I discover I wanted to be a forensic examiner? In 2020 when we had the lock down, like many kids, my siblings and I were in cyber school. Being cyber I got my assignments done quickly leaving me to have a lot of free time. To fill this time I began researching true crime. While researching, I Felt angry hearing that police missed evidence or looked past suspects or closed the case without answers. I understand that jobs of police officers and detectives are hard but I felt affected by the outcome which made me think about the families that were affected. So I started thinking how I could help and I found Crime Scene Investigation. I am currently enrolled in the Lenape Tech Law Enforcement program and I'm on the skillsUSA crime scene investigation team and we won first for local last year and this year and third place at districts last year and are hoping to get further this year. Why am I choosing the field of Law Enforcement? I am following this career because I want to make a difference in my community or state and help those hurting families to get closure and not have so much hurt in their hearts when someone selfishly, cowardly, and carelessly takes the life of their loved one.

I have always had trouble making a plan of what to do or what I have to get done, so I have always stressed myself out when I have not made a list, but then I make a list of what I need, what I need to get done, and what I want to get done and I still find stress. My goals after graduation include going to West Virginia University for a major in Forensic Examination, after graduation coming back to Pennsylvania and getting a job in Crime Scene Investigation locally or statewide, and eventually starting a family. With my plan to go to WVU for four years that means for at one I will be paying out of state tuition which is going to cost me up to $40,000 and there is still a $2,000 meal plan cost adding up to $42,000 that I will have to pay. My family and I have worked out that after a year we will change my permanent address to a West Virginia address, rent an apartment, make sure my application to be a full-time resident goes through so then I can be paying in state tuition. Until I can become a full-time resident I am trying to apply for as many scholarships and loans so I can have an easier time getting by for at least my first year. I plan to work through college whether that just be at a local restaurant or an internship that the university offers is still to be decided until I graduate high school. My family is not low income, but we also do not have the luxury that other families have that they can easily pay for college or not have as many worries. We live on a small farm, so we often spend a penny on feed, bedding for the animals, lumbar to fix the barn or build extra space. We also somehow are always having some type of car problems that need fixed whether that be my shock and strut needs replaced a couple times alongside my power steering, my dad's truck mirror broke, or a walnut fell from the tree and broke my mom's windshield, and a lot of other problems on the daily pretty much with the animals breaking stuff. So, we are always trying to figure out when we can get something fixed and if we can spare the money for it. Another financial problem or worry is for my sister's diabetic supplies. My parents have good insurance plans for us and my sister has two more to help cover her supplies but her insulin pump cost upwards $10,000 so if she were to end up losing it or it breaks then the insurance might not fully cover the expense. My parents have said they will try and help pay for my sister and I’s schooling as much as they can, but I do not want them to have to worry about it so to help them to not have to worry, I have been working on applying to as many scholarships as I can. Anything I am eligible to receive I will be extremely grateful for. I am also starting to pick up more hours at my job and I am working towards applying to another job to work harder and earn more money to save. Even though I may not be the best at planning or sometimes stick to that plan, I try my best to achieve my goals. Life might always go to plan, but that is how life goes.