North Union graduate Haley Spriggs has taken an internship at the Union County Coroner’s Office and turned it into a job. The Bowling Green State University alumni is preparing to take the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigations certification exam. Above, Spriggs demonstrates a new piece of laser equipment used to determine angles and height for gunshots. (Journal-Tribune photo by Mac Cordell)
Haley Spriggs didn’t know what direction she wanted to go after college, but she knew she needed an internship.
In May of last year, the 2017 North Union graduate was a senior at Bowling Green State University.
“I needed an internship to graduate,” she said.
But her summer internship at the Union County Coroner’s Office provided more than college credits, it provided a career path.
She said she always wanted to go into law enforcement, “but until this internship was presented to me, I didn’t have a clear idea where that would be.”
Spriggs was one of nearly a dozen who applied for the internship at the office. Her hope was to graduate, then go on to get her Master’s degree. But the more she did, the more she wanted to stay.
“Every day, when I started to learn, each scene I went to, I loved the job more and more,” Spriggs said.
She added that, “every scene is different and it is really neat to learn what’s going on.”
Lance Emberling, an investigator with the Union County Coroner’s Office, said the office was hoping to add another investigator this year, but the hiring process is difficult.
He said it takes, “a certain type of person to do this job.”
Emberling said an investigator with the coroner’s office must have compassion with the family, be able to interview family members as well as medical professionals, be observant to the victim and their surroundings and understand the science.
“You have to have that right person who is able to do all of it and put it all together and not get creeped out,” Emberling said.
He said the more he and others watched Spriggs, the more apparent it became that they had found the right person. Officials with the coroner’s office decided that through the internship they had seen enough from Spriggs to ask her to stay on full time, an offer she gladly accepted.
“It has a lot to do with her being on scenes. You can tell she is getting better as she goes,” Emberling said. He added, “we kind of got lucky, with her being interested in the field and the drive she has to be in the field.”
Spriggs said she is the one who feels fortunate.
“It’s amazing the opportunity I have been presented,” Spriggs said. “Right out of college, who would have thought that I would find a career I love.”
Spriggs said that she initially struggled to get out her comfort zone and ask difficult questions. She said she learned that if she was going to be good at the job she enjoyed, she would need to get over it.
“When I started to get out of my comfort zone, that’s when I was able to get more in-depth with it,” Spriggs said.
She said she really enjoys her job and hopes to stay for quite some time.
“I like doing investigations and trying to find out cause and manner of death, why that person died,” Spriggs said. “I like helping the family find answers for why their loved one died. It’s like putting together a puzzle.”
Her next goal? To become certified through the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigations.
“I would be nationally certified to be a death investigator anywhere in the U.S.,” Spriggs said.
Emberling said the process to become certified is “very rigorous.”
“There is a whole list of things she has to do to be certified and we have to check off those things,” Emberling said.
The final hurdle is a test she will take later this spring.
Just 21 years old, Spriggs said her social life “takes a hit” because as an investigator, she is always on call. She noted that death does not stop and doesn’t care about your plans or how many hours you have already worked. Spriggs said her family is her support network, always encouraging her. By contrast, she said some of her friends think she is crazy, but many can’t wait to ask her questions about her day.
“One of the biggest things for me is to stay open minded because you never know what you are going to come across,” Spriggs said. “Every scene is different. You never know what you are going to see, so you need to stay open minded.”