You are on page 1of 2

Two roads diverged in a yellow and purple wood.

And I, I took the one that said


Interdisciplinary Honors Track. This road, welcomed my interests in social justice and human
rights motivate me to learn and expanded the knowledge I will use to influence change on the
justice system in the United States. This road, Ive heard, will demanded much of me. While
traveling it, it threw me into new paths such service orientated leadership and studying in another
country it forever has expanded my understanding and reach for the world.
My interests in the incarceration and justice systems of the world, as well as how factors
of race and culture impact them propelled my undergraduate experience and dive into the Honors
track. My internship focus in the summer of 2013 was to assist disabled, mentally impaired,
illiterate, economically underprivileged, and ethnically diverse people in their legal cases
through the Pierce County Department of Assigned Counsel. Visiting these men and women in
various jails throughout the county provided me with unique insight into the lives of those who
live with their diversity as a point of disadvantage and who seek a better situation for themselves
and others around the world. From these experience which peaked my interest to study law
conceptually, I entered my major, Law, Societies, and Justice.
Law is everywhere. With the support of formal control and cultural norms, it passes
judgment on all the actions made by the citizens it guards. Therefore the question of violence
made me reflect on a new thought: the shadow of law, which I had always considered protective,
could be or was, destructive as well. One of the most captivating readings in LSJ 200, the essay
Wanted Men in a Philadelphia Ghetto, represented law as a relentless pursuer of criminals of
color; another, Banished by Professor Herbert himself, presented law as a weapon to cast out
those society deemed disorderly. These readings propelled my thinking of law in terms of
violence and punishment, and with the lively discussions we had in class, I became more curious
about whom this violence or prejudice victimized. Was it people of color, the homeless, or
people who lacked sufficient resources or power? Was it people like me?
The Honors Program offered courses that have diverse avenues of learning and a variety
of lenses in which I can view the world and helped me answer some of these questions. It
showed me to learn the science between our differences, the math behind our bias, the history
behind our privileges. It helped me pursue research on how to eliminate gender, racial, and other
discriminatory biases among law enforcement and the civilian or convicted population. I studied
abroad jointly with my major and the Honors Program to compare the plight of sex workers in
Seattle and Amsterdam. These passions of mine flavored my learning and made it serviceorientated, for my experiential learning project I served as youth leader for a Vietnamese
community in Auburn.
My drive and enthusiasm to learn and excel in a variety of disciplines, my passion for
social justice, and my leadership strength and diversity will contributed to make the Honors
Program a proactive experience for myself. And through this program intertwined with my
experience, I learned that law is violent. It is also intricate, adaptable, and multifaceted. I am
ready to delve into laws complexity, because it is this complexity that shapes my community,
my actions, and my life. With this knowledge, I intend to continue to take the road less traveled
by, and I know that has made all the difference.

You might also like