Criminal Justice Reflection

Eight years ago as I was preparing for my middle school graduation, I remember my homeroom teacher presenting each student with a parting gift. It was an envelope and inside of this envelope was a strip of paper containing notable characteristics of the respective student. When I opened mine, it read “—thoughtful and extremely perceptive of others and her environment. She is intelligent and has varied interests and opinions that hardly anyone knows about. She is an excellent student and a loyal friend.” Though I did not consider the significant meaning of these words at the time, when the paper resurfaced a few years later, I read the paper again, this time with deeper reflection. To this day, I am amazed by how accurate my teacher was in describing

In addition, I am interested in helping disadvantaged and troubled youth. Being in college has allowed me to view the criminal justice system with a new perspective. I believe that the rehabilitation of adult and juvenile offenders is a key way to reduce recidivism. I also believe that early intervention is essential and that attention should be given to at-risk youth. In fulfilling various community service projects and internships, I have directly and indirectly been exposed to youth affected by the criminal justice

While there, I helped two University of Maryland professors, Dr. Richardson and Dr. St. Vil with their research study titled “The Intersections of HIV Risk Behavior and Violent Victimization among Black Males”. Essentially, this study examined the risk factors for repeat violent injury and the HIV-risk behaviors of young Black men. Another intern and I were the only ones assigned to working on this project with the professors. We transcribed and coded ethnographic qualitative interviews of the victims. Through coding, we demonstrated qualitative analysis and inter-rater reliability by discussing what themes were present in all of the interviews. We found that all of the interviewees demonstrated symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder; they all had experiences with violence and experiences with the criminal justice system that began when they were juveniles; most had used drugs including, but not limited to marijuana, alcohol, synthetic marijuana, ecstasy, and heroin; most perpetuated the “Code of the Street” mentality and hypermasculine ideals; and many had poor relationships with their family and/or poor childhood experiences. Assisting in this study was definitely a proud research achievement and tied into my interest of discovering what issues propel a person to become engaged in crime. After I graduate, my goal is to attend graduate school and obtain my PhD in criminology or psychology