Blog 7 - Second Interview Preparation

1.  Who is your mentor and where do they work?  If their workplace does not reflect their expertise, what makes them an expert?

I currently do not have a mentor but I hope to have one before the interview is due, which is the end of the month. 

2.  What five questions will you ask them about their background? 

1. What motivated you to become a forensic scientist? Why?
2. What issues did you face while pursuing this topic as a career?
3. Did you expect to take this specific career pathway when you were my age?
4. I know that being a forensic scientist you are an expert court witness. When you first became a forensic scientist, how did you feel about that?
5. Do you think all the schooling you went through, to get to the profession you are at now, was all worth it?

Blog 6 - Advisory Prep

1. What has worked well for you concerning senior project this year?  What has made it a positive experience for you?  

Concerning senior project this year, I think research on my topic has really worked well for me. Because my topic is forensic science, there is a lot of sources out there and it is really interesting so the research doesn't feel repetitive. I think whats made it a positive experience for me is that I really like this topic and I have a passion for it. Therefore, doing all this research on my topic is kind of fun and it might even be a potential career for me.

2. What are you finding difficult concerning senior project?  How can you adapt to make that portion work better for you?  How might the senior team help?

At the moment, it is really difficult for me to find a mentor on forensic science. I feel like as soon as I find a stable mentor for my senior topic, everything will run smoothly from there. I am currently waiting on available internship spots at the LA county medical examiner. 

Blog 5 - Interview 1 Reflection

1. What is the most important thing I learned from the interview?  Is there anything I would do differently for other interviews?

The most important thing I learned from this interview is that I can get a lot of information from any possible source about forensic science because forensics contains so much science that even if it seems surreal, there's always science. Especially with the crime fiction shows/novels, the plot may seem too extreme and may be unrealistic but the science of forensics can never be hidden. For other interviews, I would ask better, more interesting questions to make the interview less boring.

2. Did I get additional resources and contacts?  What is the most useful?  Why?

I got some additional resources about different perspectives of forensics. Other than that, I didn't get any resources or contacts. But it was really useful to dig deeper into researching different view points of forensics because like all things, it is not 100% perfect. No matter which way you look at it.

3. What makes my interviewee qualified to help me? 

My interviewee was qualified to help me because she has a lot of knowledge of my topic of forensic sciences. Although she is not an actual forensic scientist, she studied forensic science in college and is continuing to become one.

https://soundcloud.com/eden-reyna/interview1

Blog 4 - House Advisory Prep 1

I hope to accomplish great knowledge on this topic from my senior topic because I am considering this topic as a career option for me. Such as good speaking skills, in order to testify in court and also the ability to research intensively. Besides considering my topic as a career, I hope to accomplish the ability to stay on task while doing multiple tasks at the same time to help me in the near future.

Blog 3 - First Interview Preparation

1. Who do you plan to interview? Why?
I plan to interview my potential mentor, the head forensic scientist at Ontario police department. Although I haven't met him yet, I've heard great things about how committed he is to his career.

 2. Five questions will be assigned to all seniors to ask.  What additional questions do you plan to ask?  Ask open-ended questions.  What are open-ended questions? Click here!

• What made you choose this topic as a career?
• What obstacles/issues did you have to face when starting to pursue this as a career?
• What is it like to have this unique/frightening career as an every day job?