Helping others through criminal justice

Haley Jellison (’25 criminal justice) enrolled in Iowa State as an open option major because she was unsure of which career path to follow. During freshman year, she took a chance on a few criminal justice courses and discovered that she liked their emphasis on helping others.

“I do think it’s important to help others who are not in good situations, especially when you are able to,” Jellison said.

But the deciding factor for Jellison becoming a criminal justice major was a simple, yet effective act of kindness.

“Dr. DeLisi sent me an email my freshman year and said you should major in criminal justice, and that was awesome,” Jellison recalled. “That really did encourage me to go into criminal justice.”

Since that pivotal correspondence from Distinguished Professor and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean’s Professor Matthew DeLisi, Jellison also added a sociology minor to help strengthen her criminal justice major.

“Sociology helps you understand how we interact with each other instead of how people act individually,” she said. “I just think it’s really important to learn how society functions with one another. They really go hand in hand.”

Compatible with criminal justice

For Jellison, studying criminal justice excites her, to the point where it doesn’t seem like homework.

“It just feels like I’m researching something that I’m really interested in. I think that’s what really makes me like it, like reading all the studies that people have put out over the past 50 years to see how criminal justice has developed. I think it’s super interesting as an entire major,” Jellison said.

Jellison’s dedication to the criminal justice major was recognized by the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice in 2023, when they selected her to receive the Courtney Tené Leonard Scholarship.

The scholarship was established in 2020 by Randall and Lisa Leonard in memory of their daughter, Courtney, who passed away unexpectedly in 2017. Courtney graduated in 2012 with a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies: Criminal Justice.

Chance of a lifetime

While at Iowa State, one of Jellison’s greatest wishes was to study abroad. But finances and other obstacles seemed to obscure that dream, until her advisor, Jacque Parker, introduced Jellison to an internship opportunity in Dublin, Ireland, during summer 2025. Jellison jumped at the opportunity and was assigned a communications role with the Irish Refugee Council, a nonprofit organization that helps refugees rebuild their lives. She was responsible for writing social media posts and developing a social media campaign for World Refugee Week. Jellison also helped create an impact report for the council, which required her to observe refugee interviews.

“It was really powerful to listen to the people who were fleeing their home countries because of real danger, and they don’t have any other options,” she said. “There were times it would make me so emotional listening to their stories, especially the people who flee their countries because of war or persecution.”

Jellison encountered immigrants in Ireland who were treated negatively, including some of her coworkers from the refugee council.

“That just really opens your view on people’s lives and people in general. The rhetoric surrounding immigration in Ireland is becoming more negative, especially because of the housing crisis that’s going on over there,” she said. “It really just moved me because that’s why I’m in criminal justice. This is why I want to do what I want to do. I want to help the people who typically don’t have the adequate support and resources needed to thrive.”

Confidence boost

Jellison was nervous to live overseas in a completely new environment. But the internship experience helped boost her confidence.

“It just made me so proud that I was able to stay there for two months, navigate my way through because I had to use public transportation and that was scary. But I was just really proud of myself toward the end of it,” she said.

In addition to the Dublin internship, Jellison credits her entire Iowa State experience with giving her the confidence to succeed in the future, wherever that may lead.

“Iowa State has really prepared me for the real world, especially my internship,” she said. “Now I know how to function in an actual workplace, where you’re there from 9 to 5. I’ve just gained so much confidence being here.”

While Jellison is unsure what her future career looks like, she is considering returning to her hometown of Dubuque and seeking a position with child protective services or the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

“Even though those can be emotional fields, the ability to help people outweighs that,” Jellison said.