Amelia Forbes is passionate about science, and she has the tattoo to prove it.

Forbes, a senior forensic science and psychology dual major, has the human heart tattooed on her left hip as a representation of her love for science, specifically forensics.

“Organs are pretty cool, and I like the idea of the heart being so connected with life and death,” Forbes said.

The idea of getting a tattoo of the human heart came to Forbes in high school, at which point she thought she wanted to become a forensic pathologist. However, she waited to get the tattoo until her freshman year of college when she started taking forensics classes.

“I’ve always been a little bit of a science nerd,” Forbes said. “I love the forensic aspect because it’s kind of like a big puzzle. You need to find your own clues and you need to fit it together, and then you’re going to have good come out of it at the end when you catch a criminal.”

Forbes’ goal is to become a death investigator, which consists of going to the scene where a body is found, collecting biological material and taking that material back to a laboratory to receive an autopsy.

Her passion for science was evident at a young age, as she always loved observing the outdoors. She realized her love for forensic science, however, when she began watching the television series “Bones,” Forbes said.

“I also loved it for the entertainment value, but it’s really cool how they can take this one thing that we all take for granted, like dirt samples, and they can analyze the dirt samples and figure out where it all came from,” Forbes said.

Forbes chose to make the human heart tattoo all red for aesthetic reasons, as opposed to purple and blue to make it look more realistic. She printed a photo online and brought it to the tattoo artist.

“I like the idea of getting something living,” Forbes said. “This organ keeps you alive — I like that concept.”

Published on January 20, 2015 at 12:01 am

Contact Gigi: gantonel@syr.edu