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Kofa places first, second in CSI competition

Kofa High School’s Law and Public Safety program attended the annual Forensic Science Day hosted by Grand Canyon University in early February and came away from the event with first and second place awards in the Crime

Scene Investigation (CSI) competition against schools throughout Arizona.

According to the Yuma Union High School District, the first-place team consisted of Emily Leon Zuniga and Cayla Lloyd while a team of Yoselyn Gonzalez, Irene Garcia and Hunter Daniels earned second place.

The competition required students to work in teams to fully investigate a crime scene. The crime scene included a body surrounded by physical, biological and trace evidence. Teams then studied the scene and determined a cause of death. Once students examined the scene, they had to write a detailed report with a factual basis of how the victim died and were required to describe what lab work would still be needed with the evidence collected.

“Placing first place was absolutely incredible,” KHS junior Emily Leon Zuniga said. “My team and I worked really hard on trying to find out what happened at the scene. When we found out we won first, we were extremely happy and excited that we solved the crime scene that was given to us. My team and I would gladly recommend other students to try it out because it is truly an incredible experience to participate in.”

More than 1,100 students from more than 40 Arizona schools were in attendance for the event, making both the event and competition large opportunities for the Kofa students to partake in. In the event, high school juniors, seniors and community college students can learn about the field of forensic science and participate in activities such as fingerprint and handwriting analysis, hear from forensic science experts, observe blood spatter reconstruction and more.

“It was amazing to be a part of the GCU Forensic Day and to have that experience,” KHS junior Irene Garcia said. “I think the event was really fun, especially being able to learn with so many handson activities. Being a part of the Crime Scene Investigation

competition was lots of fun being able to work with your team and being able to use what we have learned throughout the year in class to try and solve the crime scene.”

“It was amazing to see my students win first and second place this year in the Crime Scene Competition,” KHS Law and Public Safety teacher Eric Frost said. “I watched their hard work and dedication towards learning forensic science and crime scene investigation pay off. Anytime you can see your students build self-confidence and excitement towards their potential career, it is a blessing.”