Class of 2003
Matt Stielper
He's On The Case
Forensic science captured the imagination of Matt Stielper '03 when he was in high school, but it was the hard facts presented in a news broadcast, rather than CBS's dramatized series CSI, that triggered his interest.
"I remember seeing a news segment that talked about how the police used DNA Fingerprinting to solve a crime. I knew immediately that forensic science was for me."
His work as a criminalist in a major crime lab, he says, has very little in common with the neatly wrapped packages most television viewers associate with forensic investigations. He is one of seven full-time serologists who follow the trails of biological evidence in the lab. It always takes more than 60 minutes to resolve a case.
"I've been on the job for two years, and every case is different," says Matt. "I've worked on cases ranging from breaking and entering and aggravated assault to cold case homicides."
As an undergraduate, Matt majored in biology with a minor in chemistry. After graduation, he received his Master of Science degree in forensic science from the University of New Haven in Connecticut.
"Washington College gave me all the preparation I needed to pursue forensic science—by the time I got to graduate school I had taken the exact classes that jobs in the field require. And if I ever had to go to a professor for help, they were always there for me."