SC Department of Juvenile Justice- Maya Evans
Maya Evans is a recent graduate and was a member of the Track and Field team here at USC. Evans majored in Public Health, B.A. and minored in Spanish and Psychology. Evans was named the 2017 SEC Brad Davis Community Service Leader of the Year, was a member of the Honors College at USC, was a McKissick Scholar, was named to the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team in 2016, and was named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll multiple times throughout her collegiate career.
Evans has been interning at the SC Department of Juvenile Justice, specifically with Principal Floyd Lyles at Birchwood School. Evans explains how no two days are the same working at the Department of Juvenile Justice. The main areas that she works on are attending the academic classes at Birchwood School and helping teachers in different classrooms with their lessons as well as tutoring certain students. Evans also serves as a mentor, talking to several students one-on-one and encouraging them daily. Evans also helped lead sport activities during outside recreation and worked closely with the guidance counselor and staff with any administrative work and planning school events.
Evans is attending Columbia University for the next three years in the Ed.M program in School Psychology. After completing her Master’s degree and receiving her licensure, Evans has plans to pursue a Doctorate degree and begin working as a school psychologist in a high school with at-risk youth.
Evans said that this internship has allowed her to help many children and teach them lessons that will better them as people. Although she wants them to learn from her she also explains how she has learned from them. Evans explains how it’s been a humbling experience getting to know the students on a personal level, seeing beyond the labels that society has placed on them for being incarcerated.
With the desire to be a future school psychologist, this internship has been very beneficial to sharpen Evans’ communication skills. Evans has developed strategies on how to talk to youth with emotional struggles. She has gained experience learning how to adapt to each student’s personality and help them each in their own specific way.
Evans is a very smart individual who has always had high ambitions. Her academic and athletic career showed how hard she works and that will only lead her to success in the future.
