Student Profile: Adyn Migliore
It was the first session of Public Speaking, and Adyn Migliore arrived a few minutes late. Students had begun introducing themselves to the class by picking slips of paper from a table and making impromptu speeches about the topics on them.
Migliore quickly drew a paper slip and then drew a deep breath. It read, “Don’t change yourself to fit somebody else’s standards.” Migliore knew what they had to do: come out to their classmates as transgender.
To a room filled largely with males from the football and lacrosse teams, Migliore spoke about their personal life experience: what it was like to be assigned the female gender at birth and to come to realize that they were nonbinary, leaning masculine. The listeners’ responses came as a surprise.“They started rooting for me,” Migliore says. “They’re the sweetest people I have ever met, and they just started screaming, ‘Yay!’ That’s not what I was expecting walking in there that day, and that was awesome.”
Migliore felt that they had come to a campus that walked its talk on diversity and inclusion. While pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Forensic Science: Laboratory Sciences at Hilbert College, they could be their full self. They went on to take part in a leadership program and get elected to student government.
Finding Identities
Growing up in Gasport, New York, a rural hamlet outside Buffalo, Migliore figured out early on what they wanted professionally.
They loved watching police procedurals on TV with their mother, a single parent. Migliore’s favorite was NCIS, based on the chief law enforcement agency of the U.S. Navy. They identified with one character in particular: medical examiner Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard.
“I had always been a science kid,” Migliore says. “He performed autopsies and really got to see how the human body worked, after death. It was fascinating. I thought, ‘I want to be like him.’”
They also realized early on that they didn’t identify as female. At age 13, Migliore informed their best friend that they were transgender. The friend said, “I know,” and helped them to tell Migliore’s mother.
As the first publicly transgender person at their high school, Migliore helped to start a gay-straight alliance group and to inform teachers and students about the variety of LGBTQIA+ identities.
As a senior, they got permission to set up a display of flags for Pride month in June. When one student passing by threatened to tear it down, Migliore responded coolly, “You’re the reason I’m doing this.”
The results were positive, Migliore says. The administration protected the display case by locking it and promised to put up the display in future years. When the local business newspaper got wind of the story, it named Migliore a Diversity and Inclusion All-Star.
“It wasn’t just for me,” Migliore says of the recognition. “I have other friends who are still there, who are still finding themselves. I wanted them to be able to be comfortable and be safe and know that they weren’t alone, no matter how small-town our school seemed.”
Laboratories and Leadership
As Migliore approached high school graduation, they toured Hilbert to check out its program in forensic science. They were impressed by its variety of labs, including chemistry, biology and psychology.
“I knew that as far as hands-on experience, I was going to get a good education,” Migliore says.
As an added incentive, Migliore’s English teacher suggested applying to Hilbert’s Leadership Scholarship Program. It offers $1,500 a semester to students who participate in a series of classes and events over four years, all designed to develop leadership skills.
Migliore was accepted and soon started practicing those skills. As part of the program, they planned a service project on mental health awareness. They brought a therapist to campus to speak about common mental health issues for college students and answer questions about how to cope with them.
They also arranged a showing on campus of the Oscar-winning 2001 film “A Beautiful Mind,” about a Nobel Prize-winning mathematician living with schizophrenia.
“It shows how he overcomes certain obstacles and how the people in his life are always there with him,” Migiliore says. “It shows a large growth from denial to acceptance.”
A Future in Forensics
For Migliore, Hilbert’s forensic laboratory science program is a step toward a longer-term goal: going to medical school and becoming a medical examiner.
One year in, their favorite courses have been Biology and Introduction to Forensic Science. They’ve particularly enjoyed getting practical experience in the lab.
Another highlight has been easy access to professors. “In all of our programs here at Hilbert, we have people who have been in the field,” Migliore says. “Getting to know these professors and having discussions with them has been amazing for helping motivate me to continue doing what I would like to do.”
Migliore also likes having classes and activities outside forensic science, such as the Public Speaking class. They’ve revived the school’s dormant drama club. They give campus tours to prospective students and their families.
Another extracurricular activity for Migliore has been serving in the Student Government Association. As vice president of inclusion, they see their role as educational.
“I try to bring more awareness about certain things, like about what being transgender means and about mental health,” Migliore says. “I want to tie all of that together to bring more knowledge to the campus.”
Learn More About Forensic Laboratory Science and Leadership
In recent years, forensic laboratory science has become increasingly important to law enforcement, as scientific advances open new ways to analyze evidence and crack cases. A degree program like the Bachelor of Science in Forensic Science: Laboratory Sciences program at Hilbert College can equip a student to pursue any of a wide variety of roles, such as DNA analysis, firearm identification, fire examination, and toxicology roles.
Hilbert welcomes students from diverse backgrounds and offers opportunities to develop leadership skills to complement their technical ones. Explore how the program prepares students to become leaders in the rewarding field of forensic laboratory science.