Born in Puerto Rico, Sarai Rosado grew up just six minutes from Temple’s Main Campus and was known for expressing her opinions and standing up for what she believed. As a result, she was told more than once that she should be a lawyer when she grew up. And that notion stuck with her.

As the youngest of five children and the first in her family to attend college, Rosado was exposed to a series of events that served to strengthen her passion for social justice.

At the age of seven, a shoot-out erupted directly in front of her family’s apartment — to which they had moved only years earlier after their first home was destroyed in a fire. During the shooting, her family’s car was damaged and, even at that young age, Rosado was struck by the injustice of it all — coming so soon after losing their house, now her family would need a new car through no fault of their own.

“The incident left me with a lot of questions, like why had the police taken so long to arrive in the first place?” she noted.

As time went by, Rosado watched as her brother landed in and out of prison and she learned first hand the pain that incarceration can cause an entire family. She also witnessed police brutality against her brother and other members of her neighborhood.

But instead of causing her to turn away from the criminal justice system, these experiences have motivated her to study it more thoroughly. As a criminal justice major at Temple, Rosado’s strong sense of social justice and passion for preventing youth from choosing the wrong path have distinguished her from the crowd.

During her junior year, she participated in Temple’s groundbreaking Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program, during which “outside” students — those from the university — take class alongside “inside” students — those who are incarcerated.

“The class opened my eyes to what goes on behind prison walls. It was difficult to match up the seriousness of the crimes with the people we met there. I learned that we are all human beings,” she said.

Rosado currently works part time conducting research for John Goldkamp, professor and chair of the Criminal Justice Department. Goldkamp was tapped by Gov. Rendell last fall to conduct a top-to-bottom review of how Pennsylvania makes decisions on paroles.

And, she volunteers her time as a board member of Children Safe Harbor, Inc., a non-profit organization that serves children age four to twelve through afterschool and summer programming and service trips to Central America.

“I enjoy every moment I have with these kids. Working with them has affirmed my commitment to working with youth in the future and perhaps going into juvenile law as a career,” said Rosado.