A firsthand look at forensic science
Dustin O. learned about data analysis, critical thinking, evidence and ballistics at a conference in Los Angeles last month.

By Dawn Baumgartner 
www.roanoke.com
March, 2006

CHRISTIANSBURG - When Dustin O. came home from a 10-day trip to Los Angeles, he brought back a souvenir. It wasn't a palm tree snow globe or a Hollywood keychain or a guide to movie stars' homes. Dustin's souvenir is in a little plastic tube. It looks like water with  tiny white stuff floating in it. No, it's not LA tap water. The tiny stuff is Dustin's DNA floating in rubbing alcohol. The sample is from his saliva, mixed with salt water and liquid soap. He hasn't figured out yet how to display such a memento. Right now, it's tucked into the pocket of a three-ring binder, next to a copy of his fingerprints.

The 14-year-old rising freshman at Christiansburg High School attended a Lead-America National Junior Leadership Conference about crime scene  investigation. It was LeadAmerica's first time adding CSI to its annual summer conferences about business, law, diplomacy and intelligence for middle and high school students. After scoring high on his Standards of Learning tests, Dustin received a letter from LeadAmerica giving him the chance to participate in one of several conferences held at colleges across the country. Dustin has watched the television show "Cops" but not "CSI." He likes science and has a cousin who's a deputy for the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office. But for someone who hasn't been farther west than Kentucky, going to California was the biggest draw. "Once I signed up, I planned to watch 'CSI,' but it seemed a little boring," he said. More interesting was his first airplane ride from Roanoke to Burbank, Calif. Turbulence was a little rough, he said, but he liked seeing the topography of the Midwest from the sky. It was his first time being alone far away from home, too.  

He and more than 100 other teenagers stayed at Occidental College for more than a week of seminars and a little sight-seeing in July. Orientation began with a classroom crime scene simulation - lights out and the sound of gunshots. Over the following days, the scene was used to learn about data analysis, critical thinking, case management, witness interviews, evidence  and ballistics. It was all new to Dustin, who said ballistics was especially cool. He learned to hunt with a 30-30 rifle but didn't know bullets leave evidence behind in the barrel. "With a magnifying glass, we saw that each bullet has different scrape marks from different guns. I knew the bullet came out of a casing, but didn't realize it was like a little screw in a barrel," he said. Sessions were taught by LeadAmerica staff, who also took the students on a tour of Hollywood and a visit to the beach.

Telling his friends that he'd been to Hollywood was a big deal, Dustin said. After telling tales of seeing the Hollywood sign, Beverly Hills and the stage of "American Idol," he got around to sharing the DNA and ballistics stuff. "Forensic science puts a little science into police work - two things I like," he said. It's made him think about a possible career in that field. But first he has to get through high school. Next week he heads to band camp at Ferrum College, and he wants to play golf for CHS. Whether still in the binder or displayed on a shelf, Dustin's DNA sample may serve as a reminder of a potential career. Or just a souvenir from his first trip to the West Coast.
 

back to Press Room