Leaders of Tomorrow

Announcement March 28, 2018

Meet this year's recipients of our Alfred Siegel Scholarship at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, an award recognizing students with a commitment to public service.

Al Siegel Scholars 2018

The Alfred Siegel Scholarship honors the life and legacy of Alfred Siegel, the Center for Court Innovation’s deputy director who passed away in 2014. In keeping with Alfred’s tireless work as a reformer of the justice system, we created the scholarship in partnership with the John Jay College of Criminal Justice to support students with a commitment to public service who have overcome personal challenges.

It gives me tremendous pleasure to announce the winners of this year’s scholarships:

  • A junior majoring in criminal justice, Alexander Aiken has faced many hardships, including time behind bars. After a 20-year absence from school, Alexander is committed to finishing his education and serves as a mentor working with the formerly incarcerated.
  • Fatoumata Ceesay is the first in her family to attend college. A senior majoring in sociology at John Jay, Fatoumata intends to use her degree to help spark positive change in low-income and marginalized communities.
  • Stephanie Jaggon works at BronxConnect and part-time with our Harlem Community Justice Center. A junior majoring in criminal justice, she plans to pursue her passion for helping young people either as a case manager or lawyer.
  • A senior, Joseph Mahmud works with John Jay College’s Prisoner Reentry Institute, offering financial literacy workshops to formerly incarcerated individuals. He intends to pursue a graduate degree in public administration.
  • Devon Simmons is a senior majoring in criminal justice. Beginning at age 17, he served 15 years in the New York State prison system. In 2012, he was accepted into John Jay College’s Prison-to-College Pipeline program, graduating from community college with honors—the first member of his family to earn a college degree. Devon wants to spread the importance of education among the formerly incarcerated.

We are proud of this year’s recipients of the Alfred Siegel Scholarship and look forward to the impact they will make in the world. To support other worthy students, please consider making a donation.