Selma De
Jesus-Zayas (’89, PhD Clinical Psychology) serves the people on the other side of violence and trauma: the
perpetrators. As a correctional officer and the head of psychology services at
a low-custody correctional facility on the East Coast, she oversees a staff
that works with approximately 1,500 male inmates.
“We all know how difficult finances are while in graduate school. Let’s help those coming behind us. Isn’t that what we’re called to do? Help others?”
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Through a
host of therapeutic and educational efforts that target prisoner needs including
alcohol and drug sobriety, suicide prevention, anger management and re-entry
skills, De Jesus-Zayas and her staff have witnessed inmates transform while in
prison. “From sullen, aggressive predators they have turned into humble,
caring, and compassionate individuals,” she comments. While not all abandon the
criminal lifestyle, many do, and they believe that their time in prison was the
best thing that ever happened to them.
She has also
been able to share her faith with inmates from all walks of life—those who
practice Wicca, Santeria, believers in voodoo, atheists, and more. She
comments, “In the context of prison life, faith is incredibly powerful and
transformative, but only if it is offered in the spirit of service, not as a
bullying tool.”
De
Jesus-Zayas came
to Fuller out of a dual desire to grow in her faith and get a PhD in
psychology. Having successfully achieved
these two goals at Fuller, she merged them into a servant’s heart while on the
job and in her community. She recently won the public service award given by
Women in Federal Law Enforcement (WIFLE) for going above and beyond her regular
job duties.
She truly
knows how to pay it forward. To alums who might be considering giving to the
Fuller Fund, she says, “We all know how difficult finances are while in
graduate school. Let’s help those coming behind us. Isn’t that what we’re
called to do? Help others?”