It was just three months ago that Andrea Fisher was preparing for commencement. She had completed her Criminal Justice bachelor’s degree with O’Neill in just two years thanks to earning her associate’s degree while still in high school.
“I chose criminal justice because I felt like the only way to make the difference is from the inside,” she says. “Being an advocate for those who can’t advocate for themselves is a major propellant for me.”
Now, she’s starting a new semester at IUPUI, back in the classroom working on her next degree. She wanted to expand her opportunity for impact by pursuing a unique Master of Public Affairs track, specializing her studies in her specific area of interest. Fisher hopes pursuing a specialized MPA will eventually lead her to law school.
“An MPA allows me to broaden my career opportunities both within the justice and legal systems and within nonprofit organizations, the government, and other avenues,” she explains. “In public affairs, I can make a great career out of advocacy work and public policy. And with a law background on my side, it will make me stronger voice.”
Fisher says she also has another motivation for pursuing additional degrees in higher education—one that’s very personal to her.
“As a Black woman—a double minority—there are already all eyes on me by society,” she says. “There are people who have silently judged me my entire life. I wanted to make sure that I left zero room for anyone to shame me, judge me, or to find satisfaction in thinking I didn’t amount to much. If nothing else, the desire to prove them wrong is my biggest motivator for continuing my education.”
Fisher has been busy doing just that, stacking one degree, internship, and experience upon another. That includes her work with Paul H. O’Neill Professor Eric Grommon and O’Neill Associate Professor Dena Carson, who helped guide Fisher into research on criminal diversion programs. But that was just the beginning.
“As we were working on that project, Dr. Grommon asked me what I was interested in and if I wanted to do a project on my own,” she recalls. “That turned into me doing research on racial and ethnic disparities and prosecutorial decision making.”
It’s a project she’s been working on for two years now. She says the experience has been invaluable to her understanding of the criminal justice system and academic research.
“It’s been a really rewarding experience working with them,” she explains. “I would encourage more students to do research because you never know what kind of interest or opportunities it will unlock for you.”
It has already paid dividends for Fisher. The connections she made through her research helped her secure a long-term internship with the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office, creating a complementary balance of research and real-world experience.
“I’m seeing both sides and understanding both sides of the story now,” she says. “Interning with them puts into perspective the things I’m learning in the classroom and through research. It makes it easier to write and reflect on what I’m seeing.”
Fisher’s drive and dedication to her work helped turn that single-semester internship into a second, third, and now fourth semester interning with the prosecutor’s office, moving from community outreach to a paralegal in that time.
The fall semester will be a busy one for Fisher. Not only is she beginning work on her master’s and continuing her internship, she’s also taking on a new research project with O’Neill Assistant Professor Vernise Estorcien. Their work will focus on juvenile intervention programs in Florida that aim to reach young people with whom officers have had multiple points of contact.
Fisher says her degrees, research, and internship opportunities within the O’Neill School have positioned her well to take the next step toward her career: preparing for the LSATs so she can begin working in the legal field.
“I want to be able to help these people–these prisoners, these individuals,” she says confidently. “I want to not only change the system from the inside, but to also shift the way of thinking that drives stereotypes people have about those who are involved in the system. I want to help people who are at an economic or social disadvantage because of their record or status. There’s just so much to more to a person than their past.”
