When Lee Tamburro steps through the lab room door, he’s taken to a new scene.

A crime has taken place. As Items lay sprawled across the room, he peers through the lens of his camera like a window into the past. As it clicks, each snapshot could hold the answer of what happened.

“Learning about blood splatter, learning about gun shot residue, learning about finger printing and things like that,” Tamburro said. “To be able to actually learn something and actually do it exactly in a lab setting, I think this is very fulfilling to me.”

Tamburro is a student at Keiser University Tampa earning his Associate of Science degree in Crime Scene Technology. Driven by the problem-solving of investigating, Tamburro says his passion for seeking answers began before stepping on campus.

“I think the investigation side of looking for evidence is just very intriguing to me,” Tamburro said. “With what I did in the military with helping, I think it’s just something that I want to continue to do with helping people and being able to solve problems. Try to figure out what exactly happened and try to help whoever was the victim, or whoever is on the other side of the offense.”

Tamburro served as a Military Police Officer in the United States Air Force for seven years. He spent six of those years overseas, traveling to places like Germany, Korea, and Japan.

“I got to learn about myself and figure out who I was. I got some nice traits, characteristics and values that were instilled in me,” Tamburro said. “I definitely got a lot of discipline that helped me, not just through this program but in my last degree, as well.”

After retiring from the military, he returned to his hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and earned a bachelor’s degree in cyber forensics. Looking for a change, he moved to Tampa for a new opportunity, and a new degree. Reaching out to a veteran’s resource center in the area, he found Keiser University and knew it was the answer he was looking for.

“It’s a smaller classroom setting, and you have more time with your teacher. A lot of times you’re just a name on a paper in a bigger class, but in these smaller classes, it’s a little more personable,” Tamburro said. “This nice, little different, accelerated program where it’s one class at a time, I think it’s very helpful for a lot of people, even those who have been out of school for a long time. I think the way Keiser University sets up their programs for each degree plan, I think it’s very beneficial to all of us.”

Tamburro is set to graduate this summer, and is now working with the Career Center and other veteran groups in the area in hopes to use his new degree to continue serving and helping others.

Keiser University is a private, independent, non-profit university serving nearly 20,000 students at 21 Florida campuses, online, and two international sites. Co-founded in 1977 by Chancellor Arthur Keiser, Ph.D., and Evelyn Keiser, Keiser University currently offers more than 100 degrees from associates to the doctoral level. Keiser University is a  designated Hispanic-Serving Institution, a member of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, and was ranked No. 5 in the U.S. in Social Mobility by U.S. News And World Report in 2022.