by Jeff Bendix

Melanie GiaMaria is one of the lucky ones: Her work is also her passion.

GiaMaria, who will receive a joint degree from CWRU's Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences and its School of Law, has devoted much of her time and energy outside of the classroom to helping women who are behind bars.

As the field placement portion of her MSSA degree, GiaMaria found a position with Women's Re-entry Network, a nonprofit group offering support services to women preparing to get out of prison. She provided crisis intervention services, case management and legal advocacy and organized support groups for women who had been victims of sexual assault and domestic violence before they were imprisoned.

"Somewhere between 70 and 90 percent of women in prison have been victims of sexual assault or violence in their lives, and there weren't many services for dealing with these issues," she said. "For some of the women in these groups, it was the first time they'd ever talked about what happened to them."

She grew so committed to the work that she persuaded the Mandel School to waive its requirement of doing two separate field placements and remained with Women's Re-entry throughout her time at the school.

GiaMaria's own life experience helps in her work, since she is herself a survivor of sexual abuse.

"Being a survivor really helps forge a connection with these women," she said.

A native of Mayfield Heights, Ohio, now living in Mentor, Ohio, GiaMaria earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from Ohio University in 1998. She came to CWRU in 1999 to study law.

"I enjoyed the law program, but I felt I was missing something. I really wanted more hands-on experience," she said. "Fortunately I discovered the dual degree program with the Mandel School."

In addition to her work with Women's Re-entry, GiaMaria spends about 30 hours a month as a volunteer with the Rape Crisis Center.

Following graduation, GiaMaria will spend the summer on a fellowship in the law school's Milton A. Kramer Law Clinic Center working on family law cases referred from the Jewish Family Services Association and studying for the Ohio bar examination. For the long term, she hopes to become a criminal defense lawyer.

"My social work has really helped to develop my listening skills, and I think that's extremely important for a lawyer," she said. "Too often attorneys don't listen closely to what their clients are saying and don't come up with the best solution for their needs. I think it would help every attorney to be trained in listening skills."

Although the formal part of her field placement ended in December, GiaMaria has stayed on at Women's Re-entry as a volunteer.

"I stay because I really love it," she said. "I'm very passionate about helping these women. I'm not saying they shouldn't be punished if they are convicted of crimes, but a lot of them are victims of circumstances beyond their control, which caused them to make some wrong decisions. But many of them have a lot of potential, and simply punishing them will not allow them to make use of their potential."

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