Dear LSJ Alumni:
It was no small thing for me to enter a prison with a group of undergraduates.
But there I was back in January, with 15 LSJ majors, getting ready to enter the Washington State Reformatory in Monroe. We were there for the University of Washington’s first-ever “mixed enrollment” course, where UW students and inmate students would take an entire class together in the same classroom.
I was eager for this course, in large part because I knew that the LSJ students would make the most of an experience like this. And my confidence was rewarded, amply.
You can read about this experience in this newsletter, which is again chockfull of the good happenings inside LSJ. There is much to be proud of in our small program, as these stories make clear.
For the second straight year, an LSJ faculty member won the University of Washington’s Public Service Award. Our story on Angelina Godoy makes clear why she was so deserving of this recognition.
We also gathered our local alumni together on more than one occasion. A few of them came to campus to share their insights about how to map a successful career path, and several of them joined with our current students for one of two Days of Service.
Such events help me feel honored to be a part of the Law, Societies, and Justice Program. The impulse to be of engaged and compassionate service continues to animate the program in ways that are gratifying.
One of the students who went inside the prison with me, Anu Sidhu, is quoted in the video that accompanies our story as saying, “This course will stick with me for life.”
I strongly suspect that Anu’s LSJ education will also stick with her for life, and that it will serve her quite well in the years that lie ahead. I look forward to learning about her future, just as I hope to hear about yours. Please stay in touch.
Sincerely,
Steve Herbert
Professor and Director, LSJ