Blind Graduate Moves
Closer to Her Dream Of Teaching at College and Helping Victims
Of Violent Crime
Summa Cum Laude graduate will pursue
doctoral studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice with
full-funding package.
June 30, 2005 :: No. 243
Sunshine Lawson, a single mother of
three who graduated with highest honors from Cal State Fullerton
two years ago, is returning to New York City, where she was
blinded as the result of a violent criminal assault and once
lived in a homeless shelter with her children.
This time, Lawson will pursue doctoral studies
at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, which has awarded
her a full-funding package for full-time study that is expected
to take about four years. The package includes all tuition
and a stipend of $13,000 a year. The midtown Manhattan institution
is a senior college of the City University of New York.
In 2003, the Buena Park resident graduated
summa cum laude with a double major in criminal justice and
ethnic studies. A native of Puerto Rico, she was the recipient
of the President’s Associates Scholastic Award as Cal
State Fullerton’s top scholar, having achieved a perfect
4.0 GPA in both of her majors and was a student commencement
speaker at each of her department’s graduation exercises.
CSUF criminal justice professor James Lasley
characterized Lawson as “the best student I’ve
had in 15 years of teaching.”
Lawson’s return to the Big Apple is a
major step in her dream to become a college professor of criminal
justice and to pursue a personal quest to help victims of
violent crime and be an advocate for civil rights.
Despite her success in landing the scholarship, Lawson now
faces the hurdle of finding funds for moving and travel expenses.
She is hoping to get support from a foundation, community
organizations or individuals and head East at the end of July.
In New York, she will be relying on a fixed
income, and her stipend, which will be used for books, supplies,
transportation and to hire a reader.
Her academic achievements and the undergraduate
criminal research she conducted at CSUF were major factors
that impressed college officials in New York, she said.
Lawson was aided in her efforts to pursue graduate
studies through the Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program, which
assists students seeking a master’s or doctoral degree.
The program named for the astronaut who perished in the 1986
Challenger Shuttle disaster provides opportunities for students
to engage in research and develop the skills and mentor relationships
critical to success at the doctoral level.
McNair chapters are located throughout the
country, including on the campuses of Cal State Fullerton
and the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
“I admire Sunshine’s perseverance in pursing her
studies,” said Gerald Bryant, director of the McNair
program at Cal State Fullerton. “She has a strong belief
in herself and has never used her blindness as a crutch.”
Ernest Lee, assistant director of the McNair
program at John Jay College, said he was “very impressed”
with the research Lawson presented at a national McNair conference.
Todd Clear, executive officer of John Jay College’s
criminal justice doctoral program, first met Lawson a few
years ago. “She’s an amazing story,” he
said. “We can’t wait for her to get here. She
will be a terrific addition to our program.”
Current plans call for two of Lawson’s three children
to accompany her to New York. Serenity, 18, graduated this
month from Sunny Hills High School in Fullerton. Mauris, 16,
is a junior at the school. Her oldest son, Messiah Irizarry,
20, is serving in Kuwait with an Army Reserve unit.
Her return to New York City will complete a circle for the
36-year-old, who arrived there from Puerto Rico at age 10.
She grew up in poverty, married at 16, endured an abusive
home life and had three children.
Lawson lost her sight more than 10 years ago in New York as
the result of a gunshot to the head during an attack. At the
time, she was attending school and working.
Following the tragedy, she and her children lived in a New
York homeless shelter, where she was befriended by a legally
blind worker at the shelter who gave her a cane and taught
her how to use it. He also nicknamed her Sunshine because
of her optimistic attitude in the face of misfortune.
When first blinded, Lawson taught herself how
to diaper her children, make formula and iron her kids’
clothes.
The New York State Crime Victim Board later relocated the
mother and her children to Fullerton. She enrolled at Fullerton
College, graduating at the top of her class with an A.A. degree
in sociology. She then transferred to Cal State Fullerton,
where she repeated her academic success.
Lawson said she is grateful to the board for its help in relocating
her to California, which led to a new life and scholarly achievements.
Ironically, Lawson once thought of attending John Jay College
in the days when she could see.
In addition to teaching in the field, Lawson has a personal
mission. “My goal is to be an advocate for victims of
violent crimes — both adults and children,” she
said. “I aspire to empower students so they will be
able to be an advocate for their needs in the context of their
families and community.”
She also has a personal goal to one day undergo cosmetic surgery
— a “tummy tuck” — in connection with
losing more than 100 pounds in the past several months.
Lawson’s story is scheduled for inclusion in a book
about McNair Scholars being written by Carl McNair, brother
of the late astronaut.
Media Contacts: |
Paula Selleck, Public Affairs, 657-278-2414 or pselleck@fullerton.edu
Gerald Bryant, director, Cal State
Fullerton Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program, 657-278-7667
or gbryant@fullerton.edu
Ernest Lee, assistant director, Ronald
E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Program, John Jay College
of Criminal Justice, (212) 237-8760
Todd Clear, executive officer, Criminal
Justice Doctoral Program, John Jay College of Criminal
Justice,
(212) 237-8470
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