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Name: Aries Aviles 
How did I get involved in IMPACT?
  • I remember hearing about IMPACT during a seminar class for transfer students. Transferring from a smaller university, I was spending that first semester catching my bearings so I didn't put much thought into joining any orgs or service groups. The next semester I found myself hearing more about IMPACT through someone on the bus: it was described as a simple trip with a group of students who come together for a topic that they're interested in. I had no expectations and it was the day applications were due. Without putting much thought into it I signed up for IMPACT on a whim late that night. What I didn't know was this decision was about to act as a catalyst for my own personal growth and advocacy.  I'm beyond grateful for my experience and excited to see what another trip will bring!
Why am I interested in my trip focus? 
  • Witnessing injustices being brought upon those I hold close in my life has created an inability to be ignorant of this focus. I am someone who is proudly trans/queer Filipinx; I don't have a strong background in criminal justice but the intersections that lie within my identity are being policed regularly. Starting my journey as a site leader for this focus, I found myself traversing criminal justice in the U.S. by how it used to look like, how it looks like now, and how it can look like. There's an excitement I hold for this trip and it lies within my want and openness to educate myself and unravel these uncomfortable conversations together. I'm looking forward to what Montgomery has to teach us as well!
Favorite IMPACT memory?​
  • On our last reflection on my trip in Atlanta, GA, I could feel just how much we had all grown to appreciate each other and share an immense amount of love! In general, IMPACT provided me with my first space to learn and educate with empathy. ​
Contact info
they/them
ana50630@uga.edu
706-540-4250

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Contact Info: 
she/her/hers,
404-805-9483
lg92182@uga.edu
Name: Lesly Gramajo
How did I get involved in IMPACT?
  • ​I learned about impact through a couple friends that I personally look up to. They told me great things about it and I was moved by the social issues and community service. I decided to sign up for a trip and I went to Clarkston for Immigration Awareness: Refugee Resettlement. I enjoyed my experience and I knew I wanted to do it again, but as a site leader.I knew the site leaders before the trip and during the trip I saw them in another light. They were empathetic, passionate, trustworthy, and strategic; all the things I wanted to be to others. I am so excited for this trip!
Why am I interested in my trip focus?
  • For most of my life, I’ve wanted to be a lawyer because
of the community I grew up in. I saw the injustices that were taken place and how it affected them and my community. I became very passionate and learned more about the criminal justice system and realized it wasn’t just my community. There were injustices being taken place everywhere and I knew from then on that this was my calling. This is a social issue that affects everyone and not just those involved in the criminal justice system, especially today. With the many lives that were lost in the past years, now more than ever a change needs to happen. With knowledge comes power, so I really wanted this opportunity to gain more knowledge about criminal justice with my peers and to do service as well.
​Favorite memory from an IMPACT trip?
  • My favorite memory was playing with the kids at the daycare and getting to know them. I am not the best with kids but they were all so sweet and opened my heart. ​

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ABOUT CRIMINAL JUSTICE ADVOCACY



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TERMS TO KNOW:
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  • Criminal Justice System - the system used for apprehending and trying those accused of crimes; sentencing and incarcerating those found guilty of crime
  • Reform - make changes (social, political, economic) in order to improve an institution or practice
  • Crime - an action or omission that constitutes an offense that may be prosecuted by the state and is punishable by law
  • Court - a tribunal presided over by a judge, judges, or magistrate in civil and criminal cases
  • Rehabilitation - the action of restoring someone to health or normal life through training and therapy after imprisonment, addiction, or illness
  • Prison - a building in which people are legally held as a punishment for a crime they have committed or while awaiting trial
  • Detention Center - where non-prisoners are temporarily held in awaiting trial
  • Law - the system or rules of which a particular country or community recognizes as regulating the actions of its members and which it may enforce by the imposition of penalties
  • Bipartisan - of or involving the agreement or cooperation of two political parties that usually oppose each other’s policies
  • Conviction - a formal declaration that someone is guilty of a criminal offense made by the verdict of the jury or the decision of a judge in a court of law
  • Incarcerate - imprison or confine
  • Bail / Bond - the money or property given to the court as security when an accused person is released before and during a trial with the agreement that the defendant will return to court when ordered to do so. Bail is forfeited if the defendant fails to return to court.
  • Parole - release of a prisoner before the end of their sentence on certain conditions such as reporting to a parole officer and avoiding prohibited conduct
  • Coercion - the use of physical force or threats to compel someone to commit an act against their will
  • Felony - a serious criminal offense, usually punishable by a prison term or, in some cases, by death.
  • School-to-prison pipeline - the disproportionate tendency of criminalizing youth that is carried out by disciplinary practices within schools that put students in contact with law enforcement and lead to their incarceration
  • Prison privatization - the transfer of ownership and/or operation of prisons from state-run agencies to privately owned entities
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MORE ABOUT CRIMINAL JUSTICE ADVOCACY

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