How was my 2016? Well! This year, I witnessed a complete transformation in my career goals: in the spring of 2016, I finished out my sophomore year, unsure of where I stood in regards to my intended career – working in academia as a sociolinguist. Though I loved the subject, through my work with PassGo, I felt myself being pulled more and more towards criminal justice and the law.
To confirm my suspicions one way or the other, that summer I traded in the humid heat of Ohio for the sunny skies of Palo Alto, California, where I interned with Dr. Cleo Condoravdi through the Center for the Study of Language and Information summer internship program. While Dr. Condoravdi herself is a semanticist (a linguist who studies language meaning), the program is highly interdisciplinary, bringing together scholars from areas such as cognitive science, psychology, computer science, linguistics, and more. It was incredible to witness the exchange of ideas between these various fields, as well as the diverse ways in which they each approach the same issues. Furthermore, in working with Dr. Condoravdi on a study of conditional perfection, I was able to experience what it is actually like to work full-time as a researcher. I learned that the life of an academic involves brainstorming areas of inquiry, building projects, and attending lab meetings, often with flexible hours and places of work. And I learned that though the field of linguistics is collaborative, the work can often be solitary on a day-to-day basis.
All in all, though I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Stanford and truly admire and respect the work of everyone in the field, I realized that a career in linguistics would not be the best fit for me. In the fall, then, I began the semester with the new task of determining exactly what I could see myself doing post-graduation. At the recommendation of a similarly social justice-oriented friend, I took a introductory course on the criminal justice system, which further spurred my interest in corrections. I had been seriously considering public interest law as a profession, but realized during the course of the class that I was less excited about working with case law and more interested in working with the people and policies affected by the law.
In the meantime, I also became more involved with the PassGo Employment Opportunity Committee as we initiated a relationship with Alvis, a local reentry organization, and began reaching out to businesses in the community as well. (PassGo is an organization which, among other things, strives to connect formerly incarcerated persons with employment and advocate for them within the community.) In the spring I was elected chairperson of the PassGo Employment Opportunity Committee, and we hit the ground running, working harder than ever to encourage businesses to be receptive to formerly incarcerated job applicants, and to connect the clients of Alvis with employment at said businesses. During this time, we established a relationship with one outstanding local business in particular, where we were thrilled to place our first two clients in April!
That same month, the staff at the Ohio Reformatory for Women graciously offered to show me around the facility, where I learned about some of the incredible reentry programs they have there, as well as the work that still remains to be done to support the rehabilitation and reentry of the incarcerated. I look forward to training with them in July, and beginning volunteering there in the fall.
And finally, at the end of the year I was elected President of PassGo. As incredibly proud I am of the work that our organization has done so far, I am even more excited to lead us into more successes in the coming year, as our founding members graduate and we usher in a new generation of PassGo. I look forward to connecting many more people with employment through our Employment Opportunity Committee, strengthening and expanding the Alvis GED program, and much more! And for anyone who would like to learn more about our organization or even get involved, please feel free to contact me at maier.139@osu.edu. Have a great summer!