This semester, the Forensic Science Association reentered campus’s list of clubs. Led by President Carolyn Blum, the club serves as an opportunity for forensics students to meet the peers they share a major with. The club hosts forensics-related events throughout the semester to educate, entertain, and encourage community within the major.
The club had a presence on campus prior to the pandemic, but lost its footing as the pandemic hit, with many of the club leaders graduating and no one to replace them. Last semester, Blum worked closely with professor and advisor Hailey Garrison to get the club started again and select an Executive Board (E-Board), which now includes Vice President Kaleigh D’Amato, Treasurer Trevor Lopinsky, Social Media Coordinator Yali Medrano, and Secretary Nathaniel Rodriguez.
Blum explained what went into restarting the club. “The process of getting the club running again has had its ups and downs. A lot of what we needed in terms of paperwork and things like that were already done, which was very nice to have,” Blum said, “At the beginning of the semester we were kind of just trying to find our footing. We had lots of ideas, but we still had to work out how to actually operate as a club. Now we all work well as a unit and are able to put events together much more effectively.”
“It hasn’t had a ton of time to evolve since we just started it back up this semester, but we are definitely making progress in how we are running our events and creating a small community of people interested in forensics,” D’Amato said.
During this transition, Medrano said perspective and experience from other clubs has been helpful in terms of social media.
“I was brought on late compared to everyone else on the E-Board, I began this semester while everyone else knew their position since last semester. It’s been great bringing on my experience being a part of other clubs and giving suggestions on what works in terms of marketing,” Medrano said.
Some of the events the club has put on since its revamp included a guest speaker from the Massachusetts State Crime Lab, a documentary watch party, blood spatter t-shirt tie-dyeing, and a collaboration with the drama club to put on a murder mystery dinner party.
Because the events range from informational to fun, students have the opportunity to learn more about their future careers, but also get the chance to make friends with other club members.
Blum said the tie-dyeing event fulfilled this purpose. “I really enjoyed doing the blood splatter tie-dye. It was fun to be able to take some time away from school and talk with people who are all interested in the same things you are and make something fun at the same time,” she said.
Blum said the goal of the club is to get students involved in forensics outside of their classes and to create a community.
“I hope that students are able to learn more about the field outside of their classes and get first-hand experience as to what their job might actually look like,” she said.
Medrano agreed and pointed out the importance of creating and maintaining a sense of community among students.
“When I first came to Lasell in 2020, I didn’t know too many students with the same major as me. I felt kind of isolated in that sense. But bringing this club gives a sense of community to a growing major on campus. It gives us a chance to get together and give advice to new forensic science students and to expand our reputation on campus,” Medrano said. “There are a lot of underclassmen with this major that may feel overwhelmed. So as seniors and E-Board members, we want to do our part and help the underclassmen feel more confident in their major by helping them in whatever way we can.”
The club also encourages non-forensics students to join. Medrano said that it serves as a good introduction to the topic for students of other majors, or for those interested to explore more about the subject.
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