Kris Dawson (left) and Lauren Garmley (right) received their Forensic Technician certificates after completing the Texas Forensic Academy’s Crime Scene Investigation course early January. Photo by Heidi Hard, TEEX
BRYAN, Texas – Two students in the Forensics and Investigative Sciences program started off the New Year right as they received the Forensic Technician certificate from the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service in January.
Senior Forensic and Investigative Sciences major Lauren Garmley and Senior Forensic and Investigative Sciences major Kris Dawson received the International Association for Identification sanctioned Forensic Technician certificates for completing the necessary coursework laid out by TEEX’s Forensic Science Academy.
Neil Higgs photographing evidence at the mock crime scene at the Texas A&M Engineering Service prop house. Photo by Rob Williams.
Both students received their certificates after completing the Crime Scene Investigation course held during the second week of January at the Riverside Campus location. Students participating in the course consisted of mostly juniors and seniors majoring in the Forensic and Investigative Sciences program. Other students participating in the course included Tyler Smith, Sunday Saenz, Caitlin Evers, and Neil Higgs.
To qualify for the certificate, students must complete two intensive weeklong training sessions in Crime Scene Investigation and Latent Print Processing (visit the TEEX Forensic Science Academy for more information). Once the students pass the exams and complete coursework, they receive a certificate and are awarded four credit hours for the courses.
Some of the investigational techniques students learned included how to take proper field notes, protecting and preserving evidence at crime scenes, photography and sketching. Students were exposed to examples from past cases for each topic covered in the course.
After each lecture, students then received hands-on training in proper photography techniques, sketching and measuring and packaging evidence. The students then used what they have learned throughout the week to investigate a mock crime scene set up in one of the TEEX prop houses.
Texas Forensic Science Academy Coordinator Christine Ramirez was proud of the students for working so hard.
“They really are a great group,” she said. “They have been so attentive and interested in learning. They are doing a great job.”
Tyler Smith, left, and Kris Dawson, right, examine evidence at a mock scene exercise inside the TEEX building at Riverside Campus. Photo by Rob Williams
The Forensic and Investigative Sciences degree program at Texas A&M prepares students for careers that involve the collection, preservation, processing and use of evidence and information to solve problems. These careers include law, medicine, homeland security, public safety, political science, environmental quality, agriculture, public health, chemistry, anthropology, physics, computer science and business.
The partnership between the academic Forensic and Investigative Sciences program within the Department of Entomology and the vocational training provided by the TEEX Texas Forensic Science Academy is an example of a multiagency partnership putting students first. This partnership between faculty and students of TAMU’s Forensic and Investigative Sciences program and experts from TEEX’s Forensic Science Academy continues to strengthen the curriculum at Texas A&M and offer students an opportunity to participate in cutting-edge technologies and current field methods.