Alex Koepfli first heard about the forensics class at Murrieta Valley High School from the Link Crew student that came to speak to her 8th grade English class. Being a true crime enthusiast, Alex was immediately interested. Although she had to wait until her sophomore year to get started, and had to make it a priority to fit in her busy schedule, her patience and focus landed her on a college and career path she had never suspected.
The Forensics and Crime Scene Investigation course that caught Alex’s attention is part of the Riverside County Office of Education Career Technical Education (CTE) program offered through an agreement with the Murrieta Valley Unified School District. CTE creates a pathway of courses for high school students designed to map to employment and/or post-secondary education opportunities and, for many courses, provides college credit.
In Alex’s case, she enrolled in the Public Safety Pathway which started with the RCOE Introduction to Law Enforcement course. Before starting this course, Alex recalls. “I thought I might go into fashion design, and wanted to go to college, but didn’t really think that I would.”
Now, a senior in high school completing the third course in the CTE Pathway, Alex credits the courses and her teacher, Mrs. Karrie Carlson, for helping her find a career that she is passionate about and boosting her confidence to succeed in college.
Alex's teacher was recently honored as a 2022 Riverside County Teacher of the Year. Watch the video honoring Mrs. Carlson and learn more about this outstanding educator.
The first course covered jurisdiction and process, as well as training required to enter the diverse fields and positions within law enforcement. Alex especially appreciated that Mrs. Carlson, a former police officer, brought in former colleagues and former students who entered law enforcement careers as guest speakers.
Alex found that she was more interested in the stories and career paths of local law enforcement. Hearing about careers in the Drug Enforcement Administration and other agencies that work across states or in other countries opened her mind to all the possibilities for a career in law enforcement.
Alex really discovered her passion in the second course, Forensics and Crime Scene Investigation. The course continued the study of jurisdiction and introduced how to handle crime scenes, maintain evidence integrity, lift fingerprints, and understand the psychology of the criminal mind.
Although they were unable to do all of the scheduled labs in this course due to remote learning, Alex was grateful COVID did not stop them from completing the serial killer project.
“I loved this project because it linked the whole process of gathering evidence and psychology, and then presenting that to the class and hearing the other students’ projects as well,” Alex said.
Alex profiled Richard Ramirez, aka “The Night Stalker,” a southern California serial killer, studying his signature, motivations and childhood. Mrs. Carlson was able to connect with an investigator on the case to ask questions for Alex and her classmates.
Alex looks back at this project and reflects that, “it was exciting when I realized this is what I want to do with my life.”
Now in the final CTE course, Alex and her class are studying procedural law including Supreme Court cases related to rights, including Miranda Rights and rights related to criminal line-ups, and the investigation and prosecution process.
Alex is also sharing her passion for forensics and law enforcement as a Teacher’s Assistant for Mrs. Carlson’s class and through activities outside of the classroom. She and her classmates held a Safest Summer Ever event before prom weekend to educate students on safe driving and making good choices. And, as part of the class showcase at Thompson Middle School, Alex provided a super glue fuming (fingerprint detection technique) demonstration giving middle school students an opportunity to see one of the CTE course options they have in high school.
Alex has been researching related sciences including entomology and mycology. Alex explains their importance for crime scene investigation by noting that “bugs can help indicate how long a body has been dead and mushrooms can indicate where bodies are.”
“I always thought of myself as an average student. I don’t have the a-g requirements,” Alex admits.
But now as she wraps up her senior year, Alex outlines her plans confidently: first, she will go to Mt. San Jacinto College (MSJC) for general education and an Associates in Biology. Then, she plans to transfer to either California State University Los Angeles or San Jose State for Forensics, the University of California, Riverside, for Entomology, or California State University, San Marcos for Criminal Justice.
How did her CTE courses change her mind about going to college? Although Mrs. Carlson always encourages education or military experience after high school, as both are helpful in the very competitive field of law enforcement, for Alex it was important to know there were multiple paths to entry.
“What Mrs. Carlson did was present Law Enforcement as a career you do not need a degree to be successful,” Alex said. “You can go to an academy or get a certification or an AA degree to attain careers.”
Alex notes how important it is that Mrs. Carlson was able to show them so many opportunities in the field and that she has kept so many connections in the field, “she’s a contact for now and in the future.” Adding to all of that, Alex says, “since I was earning college credits through MSJC for each class because I passed the final test with an A or B, I felt more confident in being able to be a success in college.”
All the evidence certainly points to Alex completing her degree, pursuing a career in forensic science, and one day receiving a call from Mrs. Carlson to be a guest speaker for the next class of aspiring true crime enthusiasts.