When I moved to the United States, my family stopped going to church. We didn't speak very good English, we didn't know the prayers, and the American Catholic community was just never ours. Around that time, I stopped believing in other things. I feel kind of bad about putting capital-G God in the ranks of Santa Claus or the tooth fairy, but that's how my brain got wired. It's a shame, really. Catholicism is an integral part of my culture, and I can't imagine that believing in God would make me less fulfilled. So I don't really do the Catholic stuff. But I'm a woman of logic, so I refuse to discount the existence of a Creator. Being agnostic is objectively the lazy way out. I'm usually so committed to everything: my goals, my friendships, my activities, my academics. I hate not committing to God. Maybe it's the Catholic guilt in me, but it feels like God should be the first thing I commit to. But, as far as I'm concerned, no religion has gotten it right. I'm not going to act like I could be the one to understand. I'm not a cult leader, I promise. I'm a regular human, and, as with all humans, my perception of everything is limited to what goes on in my brain. My light forays in psychology have taught me that brains are not to be trusted. Holy books were all jotted down by humans based off of their own observations, and I'm a scientist, I can't trust observations unless I could reasonably observe the same things. I'm getting a bit long-winded, so I'll try to cut to the chase. I don't believe in the God of any established religion, simply because I don't trust the authors of any religious books or the leaders of any religions. Accordingly, I don't follow any religious rules, which makes me less of a disciple than an actual religious person probably is. But the universe has laws. It has order. It has strange things that just happen with no explanation. Why are electrons both particles and waves? How does that even work? It's just how it is. I don't know if there's some great being watching over all of us right now. I just know that things are the way they are, and there has to be a reason for that. And, sometimes, the easiest answer is the correct one. I don't see God in the Bible, but I do see a Creator in the machinations of the universe. I think a great Something put the ingredients for us here, all for us to become the gods of our own existence. What a miracle it is, then, that we are here to worship. What faithful worship it is to create our own miracles.

It’s kind of strange how hard I latched onto forensics, given that my closest brushes with crime have been watching Dateline with morbid fascination on the rare occasion my mom put it on. I think I care so much because there’s so much change to be made. Chemistry has its mysteries, of course, but the world of investigations is so convoluted and so behind on the rapid evolution of crime that I can’t help but be drawn to it. The industry needs a revolution, and I’d like to think I’m the kind of fresh blood needed to bring it forth. I've always been a problem solver at heart. I remember I used to go out of my way to resolve playground disagreements back in elementary school (admittedly with limited success), and when poor little seven-year-old me was faced with the dilemma of whether to stay in Italy or move to the States I tried my best to resolve that as well. My contribution wasn't the defining factor, but I can't quite regret choosing to move here. As I grew I became drawn, like a moth to an LED light of promise, to the scientific method - the ultimate problem-solving tool. In the middle of high school, I discovered an ability in and, most importantly, a passion for chemistry, and soon after that I deciphered out my love for forensics. I don't believe much in destiny, but it's hard for me to look at my future in forensics and not believe it's fate. I’m not pursuing a forensics major, to be clear. I adore chemistry, and there would be no higher honor for me than to wield a degree in the subject. Plus, I don’t want to be a cop. I’d much rather do research. I promise I’m not delusional. The world of forensics obviously cannot only be fixed by one chemist. We're so behind on cyber crime, and no amount of good investigation will fix a biased jury. But, still, the lack of forensic resources in certain jurisdictions just wastes time and makes it harder for cases to get resolved, and, from what I've gathered from my interactions with detectives, the cost of operations of chemical equipment just makes it less feasible for investigations to come to fruition. It's my goal to help develop optimized, innovative solutions to the problems still plaguing the world of forensic investigations, and to ensure that forthcoming criminal investigations are fair and effective. Of course, the prospect of finding a research position with a hyper-specific forensic science focus is pretty daunting, especially given that I’m not pursuing a degree in the hyper-specific subject itself. But it’s possible. Manageable, even, if I play my cards right. I’ve made things work with less. The justice system, the world of investigations, they are what they are. They’ll never be perfect. But I’m convinced that, when armed with a ridiculous amount of passion, a healthy amount of grit, and a graduate degree in chemistry, I can make them just a bit better. Hopefully that little bit’s enough.

It’s kind of strange how hard I latched onto forensics, given that my closest brushes with crime have been watching Dateline with morbid fascination on the rare occasion my mom put it on. I think I care so much because there’s so much change to be made. Chemistry has its mysteries, of course, but the world of investigations is so convoluted and so behind on the rapid evolution of crime that I can’t help but be drawn to it. The industry needs a revolution, and I’d like to think I’m the kind of fresh blood needed to bring it forth. I've always been a problem solver at heart. I remember I used to go out of my way to resolve playground disagreements back in elementary school (admittedly with limited success), and when poor little seven-year-old me was faced with the dilemma of whether to stay in Italy or move to the States I tried my best to resolve that as well. My contribution wasn't the defining factor, but I can't quite regret choosing to move here. As I grew I became drawn, like a moth to an LED light of promise, to the scientific method - the ultimate problem-solving tool. In the middle of high school, I discovered an ability in and, most importantly, a passion for chemistry, and soon after that I deciphered out my love for forensics. I don't believe much in destiny, but it's hard for me to look at my future in forensics and not believe it's fate. I’m not pursuing a forensics major, to be clear. I adore chemistry, and there would be no higher honor for me than to wield a degree in the subject. Plus, I don’t want to be a cop. I’d much rather do research. I promise I’m not delusional. The world of forensics obviously cannot only be fixed by one chemist. We're so behind on cyber crime, and no amount of good investigation will fix a biased jury. But, still, the lack of forensic resources in certain jurisdictions just wastes time and makes it harder for cases to get resolved, and, from what I've gathered from my interactions with detectives, the cost of operations of chemical equipment just makes it less feasible for investigations to come to fruition. It's my goal to help develop optimized, innovative solutions to the problems still plaguing the world of forensic investigations, and to ensure that forthcoming criminal investigations are fair and effective. Of course, the prospect of finding a research position with a hyper-specific forensic science focus is pretty daunting, especially given that I’m not pursuing a degree in the hyper-specific subject itself. But it’s possible. Manageable, even, if I play my cards right. I’ve made things work with less. The justice system, the world of investigations, they are what they are. They’ll never be perfect. But I’m convinced that, when armed with a ridiculous amount of passion, a healthy amount of grit, and a graduate degree in chemistry, I can make them just a bit better. Hopefully that little bit’s enough.

It’s kind of strange how hard I latched onto forensics, given that my closest brushes with crime have been watching Dateline with morbid fascination on the rare occasion my mom put it on. I think I care so much because there’s so much change to be made. Chemistry has its mysteries, of course, but the world of investigations is so convoluted and so behind on the rapid evolution of crime that I can’t help but be drawn to it. The industry needs a revolution, and I’d like to think I’m the kind of fresh blood needed to bring it forth. I've always been a problem solver at heart. I remember I used to go out of my way to resolve playground disagreements back in elementary school (admittedly with limited success), and when poor little seven-year-old me was faced with the dilemma of whether to stay in Italy or move to the States I tried my best to resolve that as well. My contribution wasn't the defining factor, but I can't quite regret choosing to move here. As I grew I became drawn, like a moth to an LED light of promise, to the scientific method - the ultimate problem-solving tool. In the middle of high school, I discovered an ability in and, most importantly, a passion for chemistry, and soon after that I deciphered out my love for forensics. I don't believe much in destiny, but it's hard for me to look at my future in forensics and not believe it's fate. I’m not pursuing a forensics major, to be clear. I adore chemistry, and there would be no higher honor for me than to wield a degree in the subject. Plus, I don’t want to be a cop. I’d much rather do research. I promise I’m not delusional. The world of forensics obviously cannot only be fixed by one chemist. We're so behind on cyber crime, and no amount of good investigation will fix a biased jury. But, still, the lack of forensic resources in certain jurisdictions just wastes time and makes it harder for cases to get resolved, and, from what I've gathered from my interactions with detectives, the cost of operations of chemical equipment just makes it less feasible for investigations to come to fruition. It's my goal to help develop optimized, innovative solutions to the problems still plaguing the world of forensic investigations, and to ensure that forthcoming criminal investigations are fair and effective. Of course, the prospect of finding a research position with a hyper-specific forensic science focus is pretty daunting, especially given that I’m not pursuing a degree in the hyper-specific subject itself. But it’s possible. Manageable, even, if I play my cards right. I’ve made things work with less. The justice system, the world of investigations, they are what they are. They’ll never be perfect. But I’m convinced that, when armed with a ridiculous amount of passion, a healthy amount of grit, and a graduate degree in chemistry, I can make them just a bit better. Hopefully that little bit’s enough.