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.

Kelsi Hummingbird (front) with Artesia Police Department Criminal Investigation Dept. L-R: Sarah Bassett, Gracie Gonzales, Chantel Longway, Jayme Rhoades, David Rodriquez.

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 learning to operate the camera to be one of the most important parts of the job.

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 and collecting the greatest amount of evidence in the most appropriate manner.

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.”