Name: Shawnette Green
Where are you from?: I was born and raised in the South Shore community on the eastside of Chicago.
What is your favorite field of study/topic?: I, personally, would not use the word “favorite.” However, I am extremely passionate about the topic of socioeconomic injustice.
Describe yourself in three words: analytical, competitive, persuasive
What does being a part of NPEP mean to you?: Acceptance into NPEP grants options and access to opportunities that will act as a catalyst for tremendous improvement and upward mobility in my life.
Why did you decide to apply to NPEP and what are you most excited about?: I applied to NPEP because furthering my education has always been of great importance. I was confident in my ability to thrive in the program. And I’m excited to actualize my potential.
What is something you would like people to know about you as a student?: I’d like people to know that, as a student, I’m focused and determined to gather and retain the knowledge from each professor and lesson. I am committed to successful completion of every task.
If you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be?: I would love to be a guest at a roundtable discussion in a relaxed environment like a dinner. Ideally, those in attendance would be the political, academic, business, law enforcement, and gang/clique leaders and influencers of the South Shore area of Chicago. The goal would be to create steps to which each group would adhere in order to produce the following results: the reduction and eventual eradication of gun violence; an overhaul and reinvention of the police department to a more community service approach (ex. Camden, New Jersey); verifiable advances in the quality of education in the neighborhood schools; generation of employment opportunities that pay wages relative to the area’s living expenses. A girl can dream can’t she?
Final thoughts?: Tough-on-crime rhetoric may assuage a vigorous and persuasive group of voters, but the long-term effects are detrimental to us all. Unforgiving legislation and convictions cause the legal and ethical lines between justice and vengeance to be crossed and obscured.
We, as individuals in custody, accept that there is a stigma associated with our criminal convictions, and we also know that there is skepticism about the sincerity of our reformation. But ultimately, law-abiding citizens and legislators, in positions to effect change, must look within and acknowledge that a human being is much more than the worst act we’ve ever committed. Individuals in custody are redeemable, and our lives can still be worthwhile contributions to our families, our communities, and to society as a whole.