Tayaba Bibi ’21, a Criminal Justice major from Brooklyn, New York, always knew that she wanted to become an immigration lawyer, “and there was no better institution that could prepare me to become an advocate for justice than John Jay,” says Bibi, a proud SEEK scholar. What she didn’t know was that one particular program would significantly impact her ideas about justice and system-impacted individuals. Bibi participated in John Jay’s Prison-to-College-Pipeline (P2CP) Learning Exchange Program, where once a month, John Jay students from the New York City campus join P2CP students at the Otisville Correctional Facility for classes. Being in a prison environment, and learning from John Jay P2CP students, changed Bibi’s perspective in many ways. “Because of the P2CP Learning Exchange Program, I was able to develop communication skills with correctional officers, inmates, and law enforcement officers that will help me with my career goal of becoming a lawyer,” says Bibi. We connected with her to find out more about her experiences in the P2CP Learning Exchange Program and her plans for the future.
“Because of the P2CP Learning Exchange Program, I was able to develop communication skills with correctional officers, inmates, and law enforcement officers that will help me with my goal of becoming a lawyer.” —Tayaba Bibi
Diving into the Law
Being a SEEK scholar, Bibi fortunately met James Lucey, a SEEK Adjunct Faculty member who graduated from law school himself. An instant mentorship started to form between the SEEK advisor and the aspiring lawyer, with Lucey opening Bibi’s eyes to different law-based opportunities and experiences. “He would have myself and a few other students with law-related majors review simple court cases once a week. It was a way to de-stress and learn strategies to succeed in the first year of law school. The sessions were fun, energetic, and knowledgeable,” Bibi remembers. Lucey also introduced Bibi to the Pre-Law Institute, suggested alumni members she could connect to, and pushed her to apply to competitive programs—specifically the Prison-to-College-Pipeline Learning Exchange Program.
Integrating into the Otisville Classroom
Bibi was nervous on her first day at the Otisville Correctional Facility. “I didn’t know how the inmates felt about having a three- to four-hour class with outside students, but at the same time, I was also really excited to interact and get to know them on a professional level,” she says. What she later learned was that the Otisville students were just as nervous and anxious to meet the New York City-campus students. As the first day went on she noticed how smart, polite, and engaging the Otisville students were. “They always looked after the outside students and made sure that we felt comfortable in the prison-college environment,” she recalls. After a while, the environment simply felt like any other college classroom. “I expected them to be shy, quiet, and reserved, but I was wrong. They fully participated, took part in all the discussions, and always volunteered. They had the ability and courage to learn.”
Finding Common Ground
One of the main techniques used in the P2CP Learning Exchange Program was small group discussions with three or four “inside students” paired with one “outside student.” Bibi enjoyed the small groups because it gave her the opportunity to get to know the Otisville students and find out their thoughts, perspectives, and experiences around challenging subjects. “I’m an immigrant; I was born in Pakistan, and I was excited and happy to learn that an Otisville student named Zahid was also from Pakistan. In most of our exchanges, he would say ‘salam’—which means ‘peace’ in English—to greet me,” says Bibi. “It’s really insane to observe someone who speaks the same language as you, dresses the same, believes in the same god, and is born in the same culture, end up on the other end of the line. The experience showed me that it is not the person himself who does the wrongdoings, but it is the circumstances the individual faces that force him to commit certain acts.”
“The experience showed me that it is not the person himself who does the wrongdoings, but it is the circumstances the individual faces that force him to commit certain acts.” —Tayaba Bibi
Bibi met many Otisville students who had clear goals and plans to better themselves and enroll in college when they came home—often times mentioning John Jay as their school of choice. “But if society doesn’t give them a chance, or if the criminal justice system doesn’t give them the resources they need, then we cannot expect them to succeed. We cannot expect the recidivism rate to drop if we are going to put individuals like my P2CP Learning Exchange peers back to the place they started from,” Bibi says with palpable conviction. “Through the P2CP Learning Exchange Program, I gained a deeper understanding of incarceration and life inside a prison. The program opened my eyes to the struggles prisoners have to face every day inside the prison and outside of it.”
“Through the P2CP Learning Exchange Program, I gained a deeper understanding of incarceration and life inside a prison. The program opened my eyes to the struggles prisoners have to face every day inside the prison and outside of it.” —Tayaba Bibi
Reimagining Concepts of Justice
When looking back on her P2CP Learning Exchange experience, Bibi readily admits that the Program “to a limited extent” changed her views on the criminal legal system and informed her of the unjust ways system-impacted people are viewed and held back by society. “I believe the number one issue with the criminal justice system today is the lack of educational opportunities. Many people believe that it’s unfair for inmates to get an education for free when other students have to pay tuition to get their degrees,” she says. “But it’s essential for prisoners to become educated for them to make the right decisions after they reenter society. Prisoners are not even close to how the media portrays them. They are intelligent, bright students who are confident in their work, but we can’t expect them to change if we don’t give them the right opportunities to help them rehabilitate themselves for the better.”
Looking Toward the Future
With her newfound perspective on challenging issues of justice, Bibi hopes to attend law school and offer legal services in cases related to immigration. “As an immigrant myself, I want to use my bilingual skills to help immigrant clients,” she says. “Whether it’s simply speaking with them to understand their ultimate goals or advocating on their behalf by drafting arguments, I want to help people from different cultures navigate the system.” When looking back on her John Jay journey, Bibi appreciates how the College helped her explore her interest in law while also deepening her passion for justice. “I’ll always remember that John Jay gave me numerous opportunities—such as internships and programs—to help transform my knowledge from the classroom to real-world experience.”
