Natalie Stone
After graduating from high school, Natalie Stone knew she loved science, but she wasn’t
ready to decide what she wanted to do with it. Instead of heading straight to college,
the Crossville, Tennessee, native took two years off to travel and explore her interests.
The experience ultimately helped her realize how much she valued education and how
ready she was to return to Tennessee.
“I wasn’t exactly sure of what I wanted to do. All I knew is that I wanted to travel,”
she said. “It made me learn a lot about myself, made me realize I really miss Tennessee.
I knew I wanted to come back and go to college and get my degree.”
Now a junior chemistry major at Tennessee Tech University with a focus in biochemistry,
Stone is preparing for a career in forensic science. She discovered that path after
returning to school and attending a seminar featuring an employee of the Tennessee
Bureau of Investigation.
“I loved the way TBI sounded. I loved how the forensic path sounded,” Stone said.
“It seemed very cool and interesting, and I just really wanted to pursue that.”
Through one of Tech’s forensic chemistry courses, Stone and her classmates visited
the TBI and learned about the work performed in its laboratories. The experience gave
her a firsthand look at a career that could combine her interests in chemistry and
biology through areas such as drug analysis and DNA evidence.
While the visit showed Stone what a career in forensic science could look like, her
own research experience helped confirm that laboratory work was the right fit.
Last semester, she worked with Jeffrey Boles, professor of chemistry, in a biochemistry
lab, testing whether turmeric could be used as a dye for proteins. The project allowed
her to work independently and gain laboratory experience.
“That really solidified my idea of how much I like working in a lab,” she said. “It
let me learn more about the instruments and doing things on my own.”
For Stone, the opportunity to apply classroom concepts through experiments has been
an important part of discovering what she wants to do after graduation. Her goal is
to work in one of the TBI’s forensic laboratories, potentially analyzing drug or DNA
samples.
Although her path to college wasn’t immediate, she says her experience at Tech has
made returning to school worthwhile.
“I was really nervous when I first started because I didn’t know how I would adapt
to being back into a school lifestyle,” Stone said. “But Tennessee Tech really has
been such a great home for me, and it made me enjoy coming back to school rather than
fear it.”