One of the many goals of the YFSF is to facilitate the growth and interaction of the newer members within the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) who are just beginning their forensic science career. The 1998 special session developed from a wish to organize a program geared specifically towards the more inexperienced forensic scientists and to provide information on various areas that would be of interest to these individuals. Since the YFSF is comprised of mainly Students, Trainee Affiliates and Provisional Members from all sections of the AAFS, the goal was to focus on the general needs of the newcomer to forensic science rather than any specific discipline. Some of the topics that we felt were of high priority to these individuals were education, employment and expert testimony.

The next step was to procure commitments from terrific speakers, complete the long application form, hope that the AAFS would allow attendees to pay a minimal fee to allow students and newer members to attend and hope that numerous people registered! Finding speakers did not prove to be a problem due mainly to what I think is the strong commitment of many of the AAFS members to the development of the younger members. Robert Gaensslen agreed to speak on formal education and forensic sciences, Richard Tontarski on the ABC Certification process, Barry Fisher on landing the first crime lab job, William Phillips on how forensic scientists make an impact in the world of law enforcement and finally Carol Henderson gave a shortened version of her workshop "The Expert Witness." After seeing the lineup of speakers it seemed certain this session would succeed. The application process was relatively painless thanks to a sharing of duties and the hard work of the YFSF Steering Committee.

On the morning of the session it became apparent that the YFSF had accomplished a significant goal. Not only did the number of registrants exceed our expectations (> 65) but the registrants were drawn from very diverse backgrounds. The session was comprised of Students, Trainee Affiliates and Provisional Members, as well as individuals in the midst of a career change from all the different forensic disciplines. The next eight hours were filled with the dissemination of information and advice from individuals already established in the forensic sciences profession, lively discussions during question and answer periods and, most of all, the opportunity for members from all levels of the AAFS to interact closely. The YFSF felt this session was a great success. We hope to not only repeat this session in the future, but to use it as a starting point for the development of more activities and workshops, as well as the expansion of the YFSF within the AAFS.

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