Investigating Her Future
By Dr. Kerriann Marden
Kelsi Hummingbird, a forensic science major with a focus in forensic chemistry and a minor in criminal justice, spent her summer in an intensive internship with the Criminal Investigations Division (CID) of the Artesia Police Department. Over the summer, Kelsi experienced first-hand the realities of scene investigation. Although the rigorous work schedule of eight- to ten-hour workdays, five days a week is not what many would consider a “summer vacation,” Kelsi found the experience invaluable. During her internship, Kelsi had hands-on training in all aspects of forensic investigation. This included everything from learning how to recognize and process evidence in mock crime scenes especially set up for her benefit to how to construct a mock search warrant, and shadowing seasoned investigators at real crime scenes. For Kelsi the most challenging aspect of the internship was “learning to effectively
separate feelings from the cases and finding ways to suppress her emotional reactions.” Kelsi was lucky enough to be trained on high-tech equipment but found Kelsi Hummingbird (front) with Artesia Police Department Criminal Investigation Dept. L-R: Sarah Bassett, Gracie Gonzales, Chantel Longway, Jayme Rhoades, David Rodriquez. learning to operate the camera to be one and collecting the greatest amount of of the most important parts of the job. evidence in the most appropriate manner. She learned important lessons about adaptability and teamwork. Watching the team interaction showed her there are multiple ways to do things, and a good team will examine each scenario, consider each piece of evidence and approach it in the best possible manner for those specific circumstances. Kelsi learned that creativity and flexibility are crucial to conducting an investigation
Biotech Brilliance Dr. Gary Calton (MS 68, BS 65) is a lifelong entrepreneur with an intimate understanding of the Biotechnology field. Enzymatic production of the amino acids in aspartame marked Dr. Calton’s frist entry into biotechnology, a field whose importance will intensify as the 21st century matures. President of Calwood Nutritionals, LLC, Dr. Calton formed the company in 1999 “to produce good tasting nutraceuticals” a decade after the term ‘nutraceuticals’ first appeared.
Dr. Gary and Sandra Calton with Clytie Calton and Dr. Steven Gamble at the George and Clytie Calton Lecture Hall dedication in 2005.
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Green & Silver | November 2015
This internship opportunity has helped Kelsi to better understand the concepts and methods that she has learned from textbooks, and will ultimately reach her long-term goal of excelling in a position in a crime lab and eventually becoming a mentor herself. She said, “I would highly recommend a similar internship to other students, and I look forward to a possible future CID career opportunity after I graduate in May.”
By Robert Graham Nutraceuticals are food-derived products that provide benefits beyond a food source’s native nutritional value. One of Calwood Nutritionals first projects was to develop palatable foods for kidney patients needing to restrict their protein intake. “This was a significant advance as the amino acids have been available for nearly 50 years and most of them have tasted so bad no one would eat them,” says Dr. Calton. Not only did he innovate in the field of nutritionals, but also in philanthropic giving. The Wall Street Journal in 2012, featured Dr. Gary and Sandra Calton’s (BS 68) donation as an exemplar in Nicole Wong’s “An Introduction to College Giving.” The Calton’s donated science equipment and instruments valued at $500,000.00. The instruments included ultra-freezers, incubators, centrifuges and beakers. “It would have been a long time until the University could have afforded equipment like this,” says ENMU Biology professor Dr. Manuel Varela. Effectively, receiving the equipment raised ENMU’s biomedical research profile while allowing the University to undertake research for which other New Mexico higher education institutions may not have the capacity.