Callan Hundl, left, and Hannah Beckerdite, right, received their Forensic Technician certificates during the final day of the TEEX Forensic Science Academy’s Crime Scene Investigation course. Photo by Christine Ramirez, TEEX.
BRYAN, Texas –The New Year has started off right for recent Forensic and Investigative Sciences graduates Hannah Beckerdite and Callan Hundl as they received their Forensic Technician certification at Riverside Campus the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service’s Forensic Science Academy Crime Scene Investigation course.
Beckerdite and Hundl were among 12 participants enrolled in the weeklong course, held during the second week in January at various locations around Riverside Campus. Other participants also were Kyle Beckman, Ashley Maynard, Caitlin Otto, Kelsey Muniz, Carmen Tellez, Jennie Rhinesmith, Charlotte Denman, Julianne Bounds and Charnae’ Kearney.
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.
Hannah Beckerdite, left, and Kyle Beckman, right, recording evidence during a mock crime scene at the TEEX Live Fire Shoot House during the Forensic Science Academy CSI course
Some of the investigational techniques students learned included how to take proper field notes, protecting and preserving evidence at crime scenes, photography and sketching.
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 that was set up at the TEEX live-fire shoothouse located behind the firing range.
Hundl is planning to apply for either a crime scene technician or latent print processing position and said that she enjoyed taking both courses.
Kelsey Muniz marking off part of a crime scene during the mock crime scene portion of the TEEX Forensic Science Academy CSI class at Riverside Campus.
“I love it,” Hundl said. “This is a great course and has been very helpful.”
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.