
Undergraduate
Meet Emily Steen ‘23
When Emily Steen stepped foot on Calvin’s campus, the realities of prison were no longer out of sight, out of mind. As a sociology major, she took classes with students who were finishing the degree they started inside Handlon Correctional Facility through the Calvin Prison Initiative program. She heard her peers’ struggles to re-enter society, and she knew she had to do something about it.
Steen designed a research project with the help of her professor to dig deeper into understanding the problem of re-entry and exploring what policies and procedures could be formed to make the transition smoother for returning citizens. Her groundbreaking project was one of just three nationwide to receive the prestigious Hatfield Prize.