Amber Smith
Class Year:
2015
Job Title:
Forensic Analyst
Areas of Study:
History, Biology
Hometown:
Auburn, NH
What made you decide to become a History major at Lake Forest College?
I have always loved history and even though I chose to focus on my Biology major, I took history classes as a way to relax and learn about things I was interested in. Before I knew it, I had a History minor, so I figured, why not take the remaining classes and get a major instead?
Is there a specific memory that sticks out to you from your time as a history student?
I was lucky enough to be the first Leslie T. Chapman intern at the Lake Forest Lake Bluff Historical Society, and getting to research the towns of Lake Forest and Lake Bluff during the WWI era was a lot of fun. I particularly loved getting to look through various old documents, photographs, and scrapbooks, and I also loved getting to learn how to use the microfiche machine at the Lake Forest Library to look through old newspapers. At my current job we had to go back through old microfilm to look at case files from the 70s and 80s and I was the only one who knew how to use the machine!
What is something students considering majoring in History should know?
Definitely double major in something else as well since finding a job with just a History major can be challenging, but if you’re interested in it, do it! I knew I didn’t want to end up in a history-related field at all, but I was still interested in history and wanted to learn all that I could while I was at LFC.
Why is History relevant and important today?
History is important because it can teach us so much about why our world is the way it is today. There’s a reason so many people are history buffs…it’s important to understand where we came from.
What are you up to now? In what ways did being a history major help you after graduation?
After LFC, I went on to get my MS in Forensic Science from Arcadia University. I currently work as a Forensic DNA Analyst at the Houston Forensic Science Center in Houston, TX. Being a history major helped me so much with not only my research skills, but my writing skills as well. I think that was the beauty of being a Biology/History double major. I can write lab reports and read scientific journal articles, and I can also research primary and secondary sources and write 30-40 page research papers.