How Forensic Science Opened a Student’s Eyes to Agriculture
What started as a forensic science degree turned into a much bigger education
October 19, 2026
- by Mamie Hertel
Boluwasefe Adelugba ’26 knew her career path from an early age. She was 12 when she wrote “forensic pathologist” in a notebook, and she meant it. Years of crime dramas like “Criminal Minds” and “The Rookie” led her to seek out the best forensic science programs in the country by her freshman year of high school. Texas A&M University topped the list, and she committed at 17, sight unseen, drawn by Southern culture and Southeastern Conference football.
Adelugba, who goes by Bolu, was certain about nearly everything that led her to Texas A&M. Her name, Boluwasefe, means “God wanted” in Yoruba, and it is a constant reminder of her capabilities.
What she did not expect was her major's connection to agriculture or how her definition of both would grow. But her trust in her instincts carried her through her academic journey, which began with a forensic science major in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Today, as a peer recruiter for the Texas A&M University Office of Admissions, Adelugba encourages prospective students to trust their paths, as her own experience has proven that a degree and college choice can be much larger than initially anticipated.
Forensic science’s home in an unlikely department
Ask most people where forensic science lives at Texas A&M, and they might not guess the Department of Entomology, part of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Adelugba did not know it either until her first class in the Kleberg Animal and Food Sciences Center, filled with decor unrelated to crime labs.
Her forensic science degree plan, with 36 hours of directed electives, allowed her to design her coursework, blending pre-law and science tracks.
An internship and a trip to Greece reshape her path
An internship at the Brazos County District Attorney’s Office showed her she loved the science behind forensic science but not the courtroom. A study abroad trip to Greece the summer before her sophomore year, funded by a Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship, broadened her perspective of agriculture beyond her previous narrow view.