John Jay College Of Criminal Justice | The City University of New York

   

New York, NY, May 19, 2009 -- John Jay College of Criminal Justice today announced that Negar Farshbaf is the 2009-2010 recipient of the Imette St. Guillen Scholarship. She is a graduate student with a diverse background in activism and volunteerism.

“Negar Farshbaf exemplifies the very best of what the St. Guillen Scholarship is intended to recognize,” said Jeremy Travis, President of John Jay College. “She is a promising graduate student with a dedication to service in the criminal justice field and a desire to have a positive impact on society.”

“I feel honored to receive this scholarship,” said Farshbaf. “The parallels between Imette’s life and mine are both touching and startling. I am the same age as she was at her death, our birthdays are three days apart and I too am almost finished with my MA at John Jay. But more importantly, we share the same passion for the field in which we chose to study, we are dedicated to public service and we are committed to leaving this world a better place than when we came...”

Established in May 2006, the scholarship honors the memory of Imette St. Guillen, the 24-year-old John Jay student who was brutally slain in February 2006. It provides full tuition, a book allowance and a modest stipend for a student in John Jay’s master’s degree program in criminal justice. The first recipient Joanna Vespe is now working for the Center for Employment Opportunities. The second Kevin Barnes-Ceeney is in the CUNY doctoral program in criminal justice. The third, Shea Donato is pursuing a career in criminal investigations.

Farshbaf, the latest recipient, was born to Iranian parents in Singapore and raised in Indonesia, Syria, Turkey, England, the United Arab Emirates and Canada. She speaks French, Arabic and Farsi. An active volunteer in New York Cares and the Center for Family Representation, she recently interned at the Citizens Jury Project. And, this summer she will be interning with the Vera Institute where she will work on a research project examining Los Angeles County jails and pre-trial confinement.

When asked about the importance of this scholarship, she noted, “The scholarship will enable me to devote this fall to my thesis, which will focus on domestic violence issues and policies with an East/West comparison.”

As to her plans after graduation, Farshbaf said, “At this time, I am not sure if I want to pursue a career in criminology or attend law school. If I attend law school, I will focus on criminal law with the intention of working for the district attorney or the attorney general.

About John Jay College of Criminal Justice: An international leader in educating for justice, John Jay College of Criminal Justice of The City University of New York offers a rich liberal arts and professional studies curriculum to upwards of 14,000 undergraduate and graduate students from more than 135 nations. In teaching, scholarship and research, the College approaches justice as an applied art and science in service to society and as an ongoing conversation about fundamental human desires for fairness, equality and the rule of law. For more information, visit http://www.jjay.cuny.edu/.