By AbdulRahmane Abdul-Aziz, penny state scholarship recipient
This Summer I have had the pleasure of being a Justice Policy Analyst on the Justice Transformation with the Ramsey County Manager’s Office. As I reflect on the end of my internship, I realize that the internship not only prepared me for my interested career field but also left me optimistic for the future of Criminal Justice reform.
Early on in my internship, I learned the importance of the systemwide collaboration needed to reform our system. I came to understand more about how vast an undertaking reforming a system can be, especially when everyone involved has a different idea about what justice is and how it can work to meet the needs of our communities. Our current criminal justice system is constructed on a destructive narrative built on racial inequalities that shape policies. On the surface these policies are presented as equitable, however, they do not require us or those in charge to think or more importantly act in that manner. As my internship progressed, I learned that developing a transformational Criminal Justice narrative lies at the intersection of public health and criminal Justice reform. Public health bring in an emphasizes on reducing harm while valuing the physical and social health of those in the system. Whereas Safety and Justice bring in necessary structural changes such eliminating bail, decreasing the adult prison population, and instituting a community base restorative justice initiative. The most valuable take away for me was that when we work to protect those in the community while also acknowledging the humanity of those incarcerated, we move towards a better system for all.
My internship would not have been possible without the financial support of the Timothy J. Penny State Fellowship Scholarship from Students United. It is always difficult choosing between getting a great unpaid internship experience as opposed to one that is paid but not aligned with your career interest. Thanks to Students United I did not have to choose. This experience has helped me fine tune where exactly I would like to be involved in Criminal Justice reform and has helped me developed the necessary skills to be successful in that career.