Temperance is more than Self-Restraint by David

Temperance is more than Self-Restraint by David - October 2025 Scholarship Essay

I am currently a cadet at a miliary high school in Georgia and have found a love for forensics and science in this school. My professional ambition to serve as a forensic biologist for the FBI and I focused this essay upon the character Dr. Temperance Brennan in Kathy Reichs’ novel, Déjà Dead. Dr. Temperance Brennan, a forensic anthropologist working within a sometimes-hostile environment, taught me while reading, the highest duty of a forensic scientist is to the evidence itself, regardless of institutional pressure. The facts are the facts – albeit facts can sometimes be the enemy, too. I admire her , as a female scientist, who takes on cases and focuses on the ultimate objective of solving the crime(s).
The book was intense and my true takeaway was the insight from her experience and focus of scientific integrity. Dr Brennan often finds herself in professional conflict with the police—an attribute sometimes interpreted as stubborn or super independent but no WRONG. In the end, the Dr. refuses to allow the narrative of an active police investigation to corrupt her own unbiased analysis of the remains. That important takeaway is a point, even in fiction, that connects to true life, science, and dealing with people. If the outside influence is trying to steer you away from what you know to be true – keep focused. This standard of unwavering objectivity is precisely the ethical foundation required to work for the FBI’s Forensic Science Division which is why I connected well to the book and took away that lesson of staying on task regardless of outside influences telling you otherwise.