From the president
Maile Gillis, a fourth-year student at San José State University, is a student leader addressing social justice issues in the criminal justice system. As a community college student, before transferring to SJSU, she worked with a local District Attorney’s Office to support victim advocacy and community education and advocated for justice-impacted students to gain access to higher education. She currently works with the Record Clearance Project undergraduate law clinic at SJSU, providing resource navigation for currently and previously incarcerated people, using a holistic approach to provide wrap-around services from facility release to reintegration.
Personal Statement
I grew up going to museums in the way that many children went on vacations with their families. My mom had a free pass and no cost was her favorite type of expense. Many do not know that purchasing one museum membership often allows for free admission to several other museums. A lot of museums also have discounted admission for EBT card holders, and free art/community education classes. Hidden systems like this allow children and adults to engage in education outside of a school environment, promoting academic and social development in new spaces. Places like museums are silent community builders, which is why I have worked in museums for nearly five years. As a Justice Studies/Criminology student, I have pursued more traditional pursuits in my major, like interning for the Shasta County District Attorney’s Office and providing legal services through the San José State University Record Clearance Project. While I remain diligent in my studies, I will continue to strengthen my ability to serve the public through strategic community engagement, to best serve the communities I will advocate for as a future attorney.