The Crier is beginning a new column featuring recent graduates and where they are with their careers. This is in hopes of acknowledging those who are working hard as well as bringing inspiration to students who are about to graduate.

The first student to be acknowledged is Sam MacDonald, a forensics major from the class of 2014.

Currently MacDonald is working full time at the André House, a ministry to the homeless and poor population in the area of Phoenix AZ. Here he is a core staff member where he starts his day at 9 a.m. which consists of a daily catholic mass and then running a two hour shift in a clothing closet, laundry service, parking lot security, donation intake or medicine dispensary for the homeless population of downtown Phoenix.

After a lunch break, MacDonald continue the day with another two hour shift of shower service, laundry service, medicine dispensary, or coordination of a soup line that feeds roughly 600 guests per night.

After the soup line dinner service is finished at 6:30pm, he helps clean the building and reports to the program’s transitional house for dinner with guests staying there. His day ends between 8:30 and 9 p.m. A typical workday for him lasts anywhere from 12-16 hours.

In case this job alone does not keep MacDonald busy enough, he also is working as a volunteer for the Maricopa County Forensic Science Center & Office of the Medical Examiner in Phoenix, AZ. Here he works from 9 p.m. until 7 a.m. going to the sites of reported suicides, homicides, unattended death, death involving trauma, or accidental death of a minor with a Medicolegal Death Investigator. MacDonald photographs the victims and their surroundings and collects evidence from the scenes. He also assists in the transportation of the body to the medical examiner’s office for autopsy or external medical investigation. After, he assists in issuing a subpoena for medical records and other aspects for the reporting process.

While this is not exactly what MacDonald had in mind for himself, he chose to work at the André House to help give back; “recognizing that the efforts and compassion of others has played a huge role in getting me to where I am today as an individual, a man, and worker,” he explained.

His time volunteering for the Maricopa County Forensic Science Center & Office of the Medical Examiner is just getting his foot in the door. MacDonald is in the application process with multiple police department and crime labs back here on the east coasts.

When asked for his advice for current students he said, “Get out there and put your foot in the door with as many companies in your field that you’d like to work… Don’t be afraid of making informational calls, reaching out to employees that you know, putting your name on their radar, and getting connected with those companies you want to work for; and if you’re unsure where you want to work, try doing what I’m doing. Do a post graduate year of service – you get the opportunity to travel (there is a need in many parts of the nation, on our continent and all over our world), give yourself more breathing room to plan your career path, and most importantly: help those in need. It’s a win/win with more benefits than you could imagine.”