Two students attend national forensic program

Rori Fernandez is looking forward to a career as a crime scene investigator once she graduates from the University of North Georgia (UNG) in 2027 with a degree in criminal justice with Forensics Concentration and Peace Officer Standards and Training Council (P.O.S.T.) certification. To reach that goal, and increase her offers of employment, the Jefferson, Georgia, native recently attended National Forensic Academy (NFA) Collegiate Program at the University of Tennessee at Martin.

The in-residence, three-week experience solidified her career decision and clarified her field of choice within crime scene investigation.

Fernandez is a student in UNG’s Public Safety Academy (PSA), and that is where she learned of the opportunity. Andrea Rubio, a senior from Buford, Georgia, pursuing a degree in criminal justice, attended the collegiate program, as well.

The national program provides an excellent opportunity for interested students, particularly because they can earn both college credit and P.O.S.T. training hours through their participation, Sallie Parker, coordinator of UNG's PSA, said.

"I thought this would be a great way to gain experience," Fernandez said. "We did a lot of hands-on work. The first week we did photography and crime scene operations. The second week we did more fingerprinting and forensic anthropology. The third week we did shooting reconstruction and bloodstain analysis."

Forensic anthropology was her favorite segment of the program. It included a day at the National Forensic Academy, where law enforcement officers train.

"I never really thought that forensic anthropology would be something I'm interested in until then," Fernandez said. "This really piqued my interest. It was great. We were separated into groups, split up roles, and then we just started excavation."

Today, Fernandez says she's still determined to work in crime scene investigations and has her sights set on either the specialized field of forensic anthropology or bloodstain pattern analysis. Her group dropped blood from a certain height at various angles from 10 degrees up to 90, offering the opportunity to see differences. Those samples would enable her — and others — to determine whether blood was an impact pattern or a drip pattern at an actual crime scene.  

The experience did come at a cost. Participants paid $4,800 for the class, something Fernandez considers an investment in her future.

"It was worth it, 100 percent," she said.

Fernandez hopes to work at the state or federal level one day and believes this experience provides a leg up.

"The GBI sends their people to the National Forensic Academy for 10 weeks, and I already have some experience there," she said.

Successful completion of the collegiate academy provides students with course credit for UNG Criminal Justice Department's Forensics I and II courses. Additionally, the same curriculum was sent to the Georgia P.O.ST. Council (GAPOST), which approved the program for 120 P.O.S.T. training hours for students enrolled in UNG's PSA.