Emma Barrow - Forensic Research Lab

Hello! My name is Emma Barrow and I am a senior attending The Center for Advanced Research and Technology and Clovis East High School. Last year I was in the Psychology and Human Behavior Lab and this experience benefited me so much that I decided to return for my senior year. Now I am in the Forensic Research Lab. Taking these labs has allowed me to further explore my interests in criminal psychology and neuroscience. 

These last couple weeks, our lab was working on our first project. This was our career research project in which we research different professions that pertain to crime scene investigation. Some of the careers covered were crime scene technician, homicide detective, and canine handler. My group’s career was FBI Special Agent, which allowed us the opportunity to visit the local FBI field office and interview one of their agents. We were able to get a tour of the office, handle some of the equipment used on the field, and hear some first hand stories of past investigations. With the information that we gathered, we wrote research papers and gave a presentation on the duties and responsibilities of an FBI Special Agent. After the presentations, we were assessed on our knowledge of all the careers covered. Finally, we built a model replicating a crime scene investigated by each profession, which in our case was the Oklahoma Bombing. This project allowed me to have a better understanding of the careers involved in forensic and investigative work and gave anyone looking to go into criminal justice a grasp on the skills and steps required to enter the field.

Besides the career project, we have also been learning about the different types of physical evidence examined when investigating a crime scene. We made castings of shoe prints and examined them for class and individual characteristics. Other evidence types we learned about were tire marks, tool marks, fibers, hairs, glass, and fingerprints. All of these leave behind traces and pieces of story for forensic specialists to put together.

When I initially attended CART my junior year for the psychology lab, I did not plan on returning the following year. However, in my first year I saw improvements in both my writing and presenting skills and I was in a class that focuses on not only the subjects that I am passionate about but also possible careers related to them. I have discovered that these labs focus on hands-on and collaborative work that will benefit all students past their high school education. All of this drove me to make the decision to return to CART and explore the field of forensic science. This school is such a unique experience that I am blessed to have. I would encourage any student looking into the labs here to take that step because they will acquire new skills and potentially discover a passion that they may pursue down the road.