Interns with Dougherty County coroner’s office take tour of GBI Crime Lab

ALBANY — Dougherty County Coroner Michael Fowler provided some hands-on experience last Wednesday for a group of Albany State University students pursuing careers in the field of forensic science during an in-depth tour of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Crime Lab in Macon.

“The Dougherty County Coroner’s Office offers many opportunities to the students that intern,” Fowler said Tuesday. “One of the opportunities offered to students this semester was a trip to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The GBI experience was an awesome hands-on encounter for the student interns. The interns had a chance to view first-hand the daily duties and responsibilities of forensic pathologists, medical examiners, toxicologists, photographers, technicians and other faculty within the facility. The employees were very friendly and knowledgeable throughout the tour of the facility.”

Interns were given tours of individual departments, informed about required qualifications to work there, in a variety of capacities, and even allowed to view live autopsies, according to Fowler.

“My thing is that I think a person should be able to see first-hand the thing that they are interested in doing for a career,” he explained. “They are going to school to learn how to do a job, but they need to be able to go directly to the lab and see exactly what the job is about. Especially the ones that want to work in pathology.

“I think they need to go and see if they can deal with working with a dead person. Or, one of the interns wants to be a biologist. So we got a chance to go to the toxicology department, see the different machines used and talk with the scientist about what (students) need to do to pursue a career.”

According to Fowler, the students handled themselves like true professionals, and when it came to the pressure of viewing a live autopsy, none was the slightest bit woozy.

“It was really a great experience for the interns,” Fowler said. “They were shown how the blood work is done and how other toxicology work, like drug screens, are done. We got to visit the autopsy room and view a live autopsy. I think the lab had 28 autopsies to perform that day. So we got to watch how they cut the samples and get the histology. Nobody got queasy. Everybody did very good. In fact, we left there and went and ate.”

According to Fowler, the opportunity to visit, up close and personal, the inner workings of the state’s premier crime lab was an invaluable experience for his interns.

“The trip to the GBI was an unforgettable experience for these students,” he said. “Most do not get the chance to get so up-close and personal to a potential career field beforehand. Therefore, this opportunity was very much appreciated by the students. The experience was worthwhile because of the wealth of things learned, especially being informed on so many different aspects of forensics.

“At the end of the tour, the students were able to visit the Human Resources Department to learn about different job openings and all supporting documents needed to apply. The men and women employed at the GBI are highly skilled in what they do, and the students counted it an honor and privilege to be able to see them in action.”