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Del Rio 11-year-old Kenneth Alexander returned Friday from the National Youth Leadership Forum Pathways to STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) program at the University of Texas in Dallas, where teacher-selected students have the opportunity to explore careers options in STEM fields.

Michele Schetter, Alexanders fifth grade teacher at Ruben Chavira Elementary School, nominated him to participate in the five-day STEM program. The programs curriculum focused on areas including medical science, engineering, leadership and crime scene investigation, Alexander said.

It was a full day. He came home mentally exhausted, said his great-aunt, Sylvia Cyprian, who accompanied him to Dallas.

It was longer than school hours, Alexander added.

During the medical science segment, Alexander, Chaviras fifth grade class president, said they learned about different medicines and how to take their pulse. His class also dissected cow hearts.

The crime scene investigation class focused on an age-appropriate scenario, in which they located a map and treasure chest that were stolen by pirates, he said. The program also included a robotics challenge, which he took to easily given his experience with the districts robotics program, he said.

While in Dallas, Alexander spent time with his aunt, uncle, brother and sister, sightseeing, swimming at the hotel pool and watching Spiderman Homecoming at LOOK theater. They also enjoyed a meal at Medieval Times, he said.

When Alexander isnt excelling in STEM-based programs, he said he enjoys playing video games, basketball, and football. He said he hopes to play for the Dallas Cowboys like his favorite athlete, Ezekiel Elliott. Hes played football since he was eight-years-old and was recently named most valuable player on his football team, he said.

He comes home all beaten up and bruised and sore and does it again the next day, said Cyprian.

This coming fall, Alexander will enter San Felipe Memorial Middle school as a sixth grader, where he will take advanced courses in technology, Spanish and art, he said.

Im very grateful for all my blessings. I would like to thank the community for a successful fundraiser that helped with the universitys tuition as well as all who helped during the fundraiser, he said.

He thanked his mother and stepfather, Jessica and Victor Gonzalez, for allowing him to attend the program my sister, Nevaeh for her support, and my uncle and aunt Robert and Sylvia Cyprian for taking me to Dallas. Special thanks to my grandfather, Jessie Barrera and my great grandparents, Salomon and Hilda Riojas for their continued support.

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Local student attends STEM program in Dallas - Del Rio News Herald

For 21-year-old Jake Cushman, the drive to be a crime scene investigator starts with his dad.

For 21-year-old Jake Cushman, the drive to be a crime scene investigator starts with his dad.

The recent Portland Community College graduate said that growing up in Vancouver, he was proud of his father, Adam Cushman, who worked as a criminalist for the Portland Police Bureau. The two were close, enjoying the same nerdy interest such as Star Wars and superheroes. Together, they loved watching the show Smallville, a show that depicts a young Clark Kent as he comes to terms with his superpowers.

But one Sunday night in February 2010, Adam Cushman was killed in a crash on his way home from work.

A dump truck driver was driving in the 7300 block of Northeast 182nd Avenue when his engine stalled. His truck was partially in the northbound lanes, and the driver turned off the trucks lights to restart it. The truck was rolling backward when it was struck by Cushmans Honda Accord.

Adam Cushman was pronounced dead at the scene.

He was supposed to be bringing us pizza, and he didnt make it home, Jake Cushman said. Its always been tough to deal with it. Nobody has to be at fault; it was just a fluke.

Jake Cushman, who was 13 at the time, said the loss shut him down. But one of the things that helped him through that time and the next few years was his fathers co-workers. They brought him and his little brother Christmas presents and came out to help with the yardwork.

And because they knew that Jake Cushman wanted to be a criminalist, like his father, they started taking him to the shooting range, something he said his dad would have eventually done with him.

We were just gradually getting him used to some of the skills youre going to need as a police officer, said Paul Ware, a criminalist at the Portland Police Bureau. At the Portland bureau, criminalists or crime scene investigators are also sworn police officers.

Ware worked alongside Adam Cushman for years, sharing an office cubicle and working the same shift. Ware called Adam Cushman competitive, always keeping track of who took the most photographs at crime scenes and who logged the most evidence. He was also into the high-tech tools used to analyze a scene and always wanted the latest and greatest, Ware said.

After Adam Cushman died, including his children in various things was a given, Ware said.

When Jake Cushman got to Union High School, he kept on the path to law enforcement, taking criminal justice courses at what is now called Cascadia Technical Academy. During his senior year, when it came time to do an internship, he called and left a message with Ware to see if he could work with him.

When Ware called back, the first thing he said was: When do you want to start?

So Cushman began working every Saturday, doing the same 12-hour shift as Ware. The schedule allowed him to help instruct some classes for those in their first year at Cascadia Technical Academy.

Within 15 minutes on his first day of the internship, Cushman was told to get ready he was going with Ware to process the scene of a suicide.

I was a little concerned about what I would see, about what I would not be able to unsee, Cushman said.

His emotions were high, he said, while he dealt with the family of the deceased person sitting across the street. At the same time, he was being introduced to other first responders as the Cushman boy, shaking hands and being told things about his father.

All thats going on and Im trying to deal with the sadness, this happiness, he said. Im meeting my dads life, the side I that didnt see of him. I felt closer to him.

While he did see some graphic things, Cushman said, he remembered something his father told him.

My dad always said, When you go into the job, you use God-colored glasses, he said. He explained that you can look at something hideous and morbid and gross and be able to see things through the perspective that youre doing good.

It was a long, tough day, but Cushman said it didnt deter him. He kept the internship going after graduation from Union High School in 2014 and into his time at Portland Community College.

That day I really realized why he did this, he said. Whats so fulfilling about helping somebody who is deceased as opposed to living is that they cant help themselves they cant respond, they cant tell you what happened you have to solve that without their assistance.

Ware said that working with Jake Cushman, he saw some of the same qualities that he saw in his father, Adam Cushman. The son was competitive, paying close attention when learning the many ways you can compare fingerprints.

And while his father was the one who drove him to pursue a career in crime scene investigation, Cushman said that he became enthralled in the behind-the-scenes police work.

Theres a lot of math and science involved, which I never thought that I would love, but now I see theres a reason for some of that stuff, he said. Its just a cool way to help people, using your brain instead of your body. Not every hero punches through walls.

Speaking of heroes, Cushmans interest in Superman never stopped.

In high school, he bought a Spandex Superman suit and wore it to Comic-Con in Portland, where he was spotted by members of the Portland Superheroes Coalition. Hed already been keeping his eye on the organization, which attends fundraiser and community events, so he was thrilled when they asked him to join.

After about a year of playing the part of Superman, Cushman said his favorite part is seeing the children light up when they visit childrens hospitals.

Those kids think that youre the real deal, and theyre not having an easy time if theyre there, he said.

The work is heart-warming, he said, but is also keeping alive another connection to his dad.

Cushman is planning to attend Washington State University Vancouver this fall to continue studying criminal justice, and while he does, he plans to keep doing the volunteer work. He says he sees his career goals and dressing up in spandex and a cape as connected.

At the end of the day, its about letting people know that theyre safe. Its about letting people know that the worlds not bad, he said.

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Son follows late father's footsteps into crime scene investigation - Seattle Times

The Ellis County Sheriffs Office received a call around 4:30 p.m. Saturday, from a resident who believed that they had discovered human remains while hunting near Section House Road, north of Alma. They are investigating it as a homicide.

Ellis County Sheriffs deputies responded to the location, which is a non-addressed parcel of agricultural land planted with crops and a small wooded area.

The responding deputies confirmed the remains to be human shortly after arrival. The deputies then contacted the Ellis County Sheriffs Office Criminal Investigative Division who came along with a crime scene investigator to the location.

The investigators determined that the remains had been scattered over a large area. The Ellis County Sheriffs Office requested the assistance of the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification.

The crime scene investigation began at around 6:30 a.m. on Sunday, which consisted of Sheriffs Office Investigators, Texas DPS aircraft and staff from the UNT Center for Human Identification.

The unidentified human remains will be transferred to the UNT Center for Human Identification.

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Hunter finds human remains in Alma | News | corsicanadailysun.com - Corsicana Daily Sun

HICKORY The Hickory Career and Arts Magnet (HCAM) School set a national record in June, finishing second in the Crime Scene Investigation competition at the 2017 SkillsUSA national championships held in Louisville, Ky.

Its the highest any North Carolina high school has ever scored in this competition, according to the teams advisor Seth Bailey, HCAM and Catawba Valley Community College (CVCC) criminal justice instructor.

SkillsUSA is a national partnership of students, teachers (middle-school, high-school and college/postsecondary) and industry representatives working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce, according to skillsusa.org. More than 16,000 students competed in 100 occupational and leadership skill areas at the competition.

The HCAM team of Summer Walsh, Shelby Sipe and Brian Martinez entered nationals as the North Carolina state SkillsUSA champions as well.

It took a lot of hard work. The group I have this year did a lot of studying on their own, Bailey said.

They were first in state to reach nationals where they competed against 35 other teams.

I got their scores back, and what was interesting was in high school, on the written exam, the highest score in the state was 95, and thats what we got, and the state average on the written exam was 82, and at nationals, the highest written exam score was 87, and we got an 87, Bailey said. Our team was definitely one of the best.

Summer Walsh graduated from HCAM in May and this was her first year participating in SkillsUSA. She saw it as an important opportunity and called it the best choice shes made concerning her education while in high school.

The competition begins with the teams being briefed on a crime scenario. They use that information to process the crime scene, taking photographs, making measurements.

The group writes a report, building an evidence and photography log. They have three minutes for processing and 30 minutes to fill out evidence bags and their logs.

Walsh is attending CVCC and looks to transfer to a four-year university.

It impacted me big time. I had so much support and really want to do it again next year and it showed me what its like to be working in that field, Walsh said.

She realizes the competition experience isnt exactly like investigating an actual crime scene but it covers all the basics.

In the field, youre not going to have just 30 minutes to process a crime scene, Walsh said. Youre going to have all the time you can get, but theres things called transient evidence, which is evidence that can be damaged in minutes, so you have to hurry up to get that.

She thinks everyone should participate in SkillsUSA.

It shows your skills and ambition and it shows you how passionate you are about your career path, Walsh said.

Shelby Sipe, a junior at HCAM, has always been a fan of the television show CSI, and in the schools Forensics Academy, she found out about the HCAM Crime Scene Investigation team.

When I found out the school offered that course I jumped straight for it, Sipe said.

It was her teacher Seth Bailey who encouraged her to try the SkillsUSA team.

I started doing crime scenes every week, and I realized it was something I really wanted to do. This will help me out a lot, Sipe said.

While its a lot of fun for her, Sipe admits its a big commitment and a lot of work.

You have to know your history about court cases and how to process the evidence, she said.

It comes down to a students attention to detail.

We have a visualization test and you get a certain amount time, like 30 seconds to look at a picture and youre asked about what you see, Sipe said. You have a written test based on background knowledge of criminal justice.

In general, she thinks her time preparing for SkillsUSA made her a better student. It reinforced the idea of discipline when it came to studying and the importance of participating in class.

She already has her sister following in her footsteps when it comes to criminal justice and SkillsUSA.

Its gotten me more involved with working with other people, Sipe said. This has gotten me communicating better in large groups and to do interviews and just get prepared for what is going to happen when I get out into the real world.

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Hickory Career and Arts Magnet sets standard for NC at SkillsUSA championships - Hickory Daily Record

On his 11-year-old frame, Abraham Nakhal of Los Angeles donned a heavy ballistics vest usually worn by Bowling Green Police Department Critical Response Team members.

As one of 25 children who attended the BGPD Junior Police Academy from Wednesday through Friday, he was so excited Wednesday night about returning the next day that he couldnt sleep.

Abraham, who hopes to one day become a police officer or a doctor, is in Bowling Green visiting his aunt Huda Melkey, who persuaded him to attend the camp.

I chose to come here. The first day I came it was so much fun, he said. We met all kinds of police men and women and the police dog.

Then after a while we drove around in carts on the road here which was really, really, really fun, he said of learning about traffic laws on the mock city streets of Safety City, a small replica of Bowling Green set up in front of Greenwood High School.

The tiny city has paved streets and sidewalks, working traffic lights, railroad tracks and a miniature water tower that looks like the tower on hospital hill.

When I came today, I was excited to come, Abraham said. Im just so excited I couldnt sleep.

While traffic safety was the highlight for him, he also enjoyed learning about crime scene investigation. He was surprised that BGPD Critical Response Team members wear camouflage.

I never knew they had camouflage. I thought SWAT wears black all the time because Im from L.A., he said.

They treat us kindly and respectfully. I want to be a cop because they help all human people out there, Abraham said

Braxton McCoy, who after patiently waiting to turn 10 years old, was finally old enough to do it this year, he said of the junior academy.

I always wanted to do this camp, Braxton said.

His biggest takeaway from the camp is to choose a life without drug use, alcohol or smoking, he said.

I thought their gadgets were cool. Their outfits were cool, and its good to help the community, Braxton said.

He hopes to one day become an officer to help the community and all of its needs.

Stella Davis, 12, was attracted to the camp after hearing about her moms participation in the Citizens Police Academy.

I thought it was really fun. It really opened my eyes about drugs and alcohol, Stella said. I really learned how hard the officers jobs are.

Her favorite part of the camp as of Thursday afternoon was the crime scene investigation where she handled mock blood samples and helped find shell casings and a mock gun.

I enjoyed taking the samples of the case we were working on, she said.

I didnt know how many cases they were doing in a day. It surprised me about how many cases they were doing, Stella said.

She is still deciding on a career choice between law enforcement and marine biology.

Shelby Hatler, 10, whose father is retired from Kentucky State Police and mother works as a dispatcher for BGPD, wasnt really surprised by anything she learned at the camp because of things she has already learned at home from her parents. But she thoroughly enjoyed the crime scene investigation.

I got to take the pictures, she said. I liked finding the gun, bullets and evidence.

Im going to be a dispatcher just like my mom, she said.

The annual camp is open to 25 kids ages 10 to 13, Maj. Matt Edwards said.

Its a fun way to show young people what their police department is all about and make a connection between the police and the youth, he said.

The junior academy is more than 10 years old. So far, John Deeb is the only BGPD police officer who as a boy attended the junior police academy.

I anticipate that number will increase, Edwards said.

The kids spend three days learning about all things police before wrapping up with a mock trial and a graduation ceremony. The cost is $50 and scholarships are available.

Its a very hands-on academy, Edwards said. To be fun at this age it has to be hands on.

Sign ups are held every year at the Community Education Summer Activity Fair. For more information, call Officer Ronnie Ward or Edwards at 270-393-4000.

Follow Assistant City Editor Deborah Highland on Twitter @BGDNCrimebeat or visit bgdailynews.com.

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Kids learn about cops at junior police academy - Bowling Green Daily News