2021 Criminal Justice Essay Scholarship Winners

After reviewing many impressive essays, the law firm of Adras & Altig is pleased to announce the winners of our fourth annual Adras & Altig Criminal Justice Essay Contest.

Congratulations to the three winners of our 2021 scholarships:

1st Place – Shane Christensen (Llano High School)

2nd Place – Steven Daley (Arizona State University)

3rd Place – Kiki Olafimihan (Western New England University)

The winners all provided thoughtful and well-written responses to answer the prompt. The essay prompt was: “How can our communities come together to prevent crime?” The applicants also addressed the crimes their own cities are battling the most in their essays. Their solutions show that they are independent thinkers looking to make a difference in their communities.

1st Place – Shane Christensen

Our first prize winner, Shane Christensen, attends Llano High School in a small rural Texas town. His essay discusses how neighborhoods coming together is essential to prevent crime. Christensen explains how his town struggles with a methamphetamine epidemic, where he even sees his fellow high schoolers abusing drugs. He believes his town would benefit from a neighborhood watch group to combat this particular issue. “Communication between citizens and the law is the key to cracking down on certain problems in a society,” he explains. Christensen also states that funding should be provided to establish better lighting and cleanup throughout the town, as drug use and dealing runs rampant in the dark of night. He believes that through these methods, his town will be able to stop the production and distribution of drugs, as well as provide more safety for residents.

2nd Place – Steven Daley

Second place is Steven Daley at Arizona State University, who addresses the circumstances that may lead some people to commit crimes. As he explains, “When people are unable to afford basic goods and services, they are more likely to meet their basic needs by committing crimes that give them the funds they need.” Daley believes that the way to prevent crime is to invest in services that can assist the needy with low-cost food, housing, transportation, medical treatment, and other essential goods and services. By ensuring people have the means to succeed and be gainfully employed, the need for many types of crimes will decrease.

3rd Place – Kiki Olafimihan

Kiki Olafimihan, who attends Western New England University, sees the solution as requiring cooperation from many levels of society. This begins on a grassroots level to provide resources to the community and misguided youth. She also explains how cleaning up the community can help prevent vandalism, as a clean environment is less welcoming to crime. Olafimihan then states that there must also be involvement from the government level. The consequences of a criminal record frequently keep people from getting back on their feet, and they instead fall back into the cycle of crime. She explains, “Recognizing the unfairness of restricting relief to those without the means to financially fulfill certain obligations may prevent a recurrence of crime in the community.”

These talented writers will receive scholarship funds from our law firm to assist with education-related expenses. Adras & Altig sees the benefit of supporting others’ efforts to obtain the education they deserve, as this helps to serve and better our Las Vegas community. We are excited to see how these students grow and come to achieve their personal and professional goals! Congratulations again to the winners, and stay tuned for next year’s scholarship competition.