Testimonials

Lorena Cardenas  |  Aspiring law enforcement officer

On the impact of working in her home community:

"The most meaningful part of completing my social justice major was being able to work with my community. Even though I grew up here, I didn't fully realize everything that the community had to offer. Being able to support people and build relationships was really meaningful to me. It helped me better understand how many people actually need support and how there's a language barrier that makes it very difficult."

Keonne Neal  |  Aspiring law school student

On the curriculum's foundation for critical thinking:

"I think it gave me a strong foundation just by encouraging critical thinking — that was emphasized a lot. Working with AAPI communities more than any other group definitely gave me a different perspective, and I think that forced me to engage in critical thinking."

Sienna Fassett  |  Aspiring firefighter

On how the major directly contributed to being hired into the San Rafael Fire Department pre-academy:

"One of the things in my interview that was a reason I got hired was because I was a social justice major — they really loved that I already had some experience working in San Rafael and doing service learning, because I already had context for a lot of the different things that are going on in our community."

Stephanie Fayette  |  Aspiring immigration lawyer

On what the capstone taught her about listening to the community:

"You don't necessarily know what someone is going through unless you have that conversation with them. Everyone has different stories and different experiences, but we're not going to know unless we talk to each and every single person. That's what makes it meaningful."