Kristen is a Master's student in the department of Criminology and Criminal Justice. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts from Texas State University in Anthropology with a minor in Forensic Psychology. During her time at Texas State University, she volunteered at the Osteology and Research Processing Laboratory (ORPL) at the Forensic Anthropology Research Facility (FARF) processing the remains of donors to be recorded and kept in perpetuity into the permanent Texas State Donated Skeletal Collection. She also had the opportunity to participate in a Longitudinal Decomposition Study documenting the decomposition process through photography, unfortunately this was cut short due to the pandemic. Her most rewarding work was being able to help with Operation Identification (OpID) led by Dr. Kate Spradley. OpID was founded to identify and repatriate the remains of migrants found along or in close proximity to the South Texas border. (More information can be found here: https://www.txstate.edu/anthropology/facts/outreach/opid.html) Kristen's current research interests involve policing and the community, racial disparities in the Criminal Justice System, and Critical Criminology theory.