Personal Statement

Growing up, I attended a low-income, majority-Black school district. While I loved my schools, I often felt the effects of chronic underfunding through a lack of textbooks, leaking roofs, and overcrowded classrooms. In high school, I realized how the harsh, zero-tolerance discipline policies disproportionately affected and penalized Black and minority students, feeding the school-to-prison pipeline. I became passionate about the idea of restorative justice—a practice that emphasizes community, relationships, respect, and the reparation of harms—after hearing about it at the North Dakota Study Group my junior year of high school. I am currently working on a mixed methods research project that examines the implementation and impact of restorative justice practices in schools. My research plan involves observation of student and staff interactions, sitting in on restorative circles, and interviewing students, teachers, administrators, and parents on their opinions on and experience with restorative justice practices. Following this project, I plan to expand my work to other schools and districts. I am advocating for policy change and want to assist schools in developing the best restorative justice practices and implementation plans for their school community.