Women are leading the way when it comes to a career in the field of forensic sciences. In fact, at the Sacramento County District Attorney's Lab of Forensic Services, there are almost twice as many women criminalists as men.When Sara Porter first put on a white coat and entered a crime lab as a college senior, she knew."It was cool to be in an actual crime lab where people are working on analyzing evidence involving real cases and preparing for court," Porter said.She said being in the lab was something she knew she wanted to pursue down the road. Some 20 years later, Porter fits right in at the Sacramento County DA's crime lab, along with the 24 other women criminalists. There are 15 male criminalists.Her job focuses on toxicology."I spend a majority of my time analyzing bodily fluids, so blood and urine and occasionally tissue samples from the coroner’s office for the presence of drugs and alcohol," Porter said.Porter is also a member of the crime scene response team and is an expert in bloodstain analysis."I find it very satisfying. I like that the work that I do. I feel it has value, and it’s important to the people of Sacramento," Porter said.Porter always liked science, especially chemistry. But she didn't know what to do with that skill until the light bulb went off working in her mother's hair salon as a teenager in Massachusetts."I remember one of the clients; she worked at the crime lab for Boston police," Porter said. "It felt like up until that point, it was maybe unattainable, like wanting to be an astronaut. These dreams that we had that we don’t think we can actually get into."Her male high school chemistry teacher pushed her to go to college.With her firefighter father and hair stylist mother, Porter would become the family's first-generation college graduate."That instilled in me the value for me of studying hard, working hard, finishing all my homework and doing the best job I could," she said.Porter wondered how she could expand her chemistry knowledge."How can I apply this to forensics? I had always had an interest in forensics. Unsolved Mysteries was my favorite TV show when I was 10," Porter said.While in grad school at UC Davis, Porter made connections at the crime lab where she works now."One day a week, I came in here, and I categorized the reference catalog of beige carpet fiber; that was my first forensics-oriented task here at the lab," Porter said.Now Porter helps convict criminals by testifying as an expert, solving crimes and encouraging young women to seize opportunities in scientific fields."I did have to take the initiative to sort of try to stick my foot in the door where I wanted to go," she said.Porter left the East Coast for Los Alamos, New Mexico National Lab, and received her master's degree at UC Davis.High school students interested in this kind of career can attend the DA's Crime Lab Youth Shadow Day in the summer.