This case study examines the role of student affairs professionals in supporting justice-impacted students navigating trauma and institutional harm. It follows Marcel, a student who experiences a mental health crisis after their professor calls campus police on them during class. Sam, a Reentry Coordinator, and Casey, an Academic Advisor with Justice Scholars, grapple with how to best support Marcel while questioning the boundaries of their roles. They are committed to helping Marcel return to class and re-engage with school but worry they are overstepping and being paternalistic. The case highlights the difficulty of offering trauma-informed support without a clear institutional framework to address students’ mental health needs.

Keywords: justice-impacted, formerly incarcerated, mental health

Character Descriptions

Marcel Jacobson (he/they) is a justice-impacted, Black, non-binary, transfer student. He recently started attending Saber University through the Reentry Student Program, Justice Scholars, and was doing very well academically and personally. He maintained regular check-ins with his Reentry Program Coordinator and Academic Advisor.

Sam Rivera, Reentry Program Coordinator (she/her), works for Saber’s Justice Scholars and has served in this role for over 10 years. She works directly with students, managing a

growing caseload of over 120. She is deeply committed but overwhelmed; she struggles with when and how to manage concerns about students’ mental health in order to support and provide resources to them.

Casey Lin, Academic Advisor (she/her), works with Saber’s Justice scholars as an academic advisor, a role she has held for over five years. She works with a smaller caseload of 50 students. She maintains monthly wellness check-ins with her caseload. The purpose of these check-ins is to assess the students’ mental well-being and to monitor their academic progress. Casey becomes concerned when her students’ mental health declines and their academic performance begins to suffer, but she feels uncertain about the extent of her responsibility in addressing their mental health needs.

Context

This case is set at Saber University (SU), a regional, public four-year institution in Southern California. SU is a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) and enrolls over 30,000 students (26,000 undergraduates, 4,000 graduates). Justice Scholars is a nonprofit organization that has been operating within the public university system since 2013. Justice Scholars’ mission is to assist justice-impacted students attending college/university. SU uses the term “justice-impacted” in lieu of “formerly incarcerated” or “ex-con” because of the negative and derogatory nature of those labels. The term “justice-impacted” encompasses individuals who have been directly or indirectly affected by the criminal justice system.

The goal of the Justice Scholars program is to support students in all realms of life, including financial, housing, and transportation. Recently, the program has seen an increase in students needing support with their mental health. While staff have noticed and discussed this increase, the program has not developed formalized action steps to assist students. SU does offer counseling through its Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS). 

Case Study

On Thursday, April 25, at 5:00 PM, Marcel sits in his Sociology 100 course. The professor is leading a lecture on criminology and the carceral state. During the discussion, a student says, “Criminals belong behind bars, not back in society.” For Marcel, this is a highly offensive remark which strikes a nerve. As someone who is formerly incarcerated and deals with impostor phenomenon, he feels he doesn’t belong in higher education. Marcel raises his hand and asks, “Why shouldn’t people who are formerly incarcerated get second chances? The student responds, “Because once a criminal, always a criminal!” This has an activating effect on Marcel; he has a flashback to his time in prison. He remembers the way the guards spoke to him, saying comments such as “You’ll never be anything more than a criminal, you’re never getting out of here.” Marcel then says to the student, “What if I were to tell you I am formerly incarcerated?” The student then replies, “You don’t deserve to be here; you need to go.” In response, Marcel threatens to harm the student. Rather than de-escalating the situation, the professor immediately calls campus police and requests that Marcel be removed from the classroom.

As the officer arrives, Marcel tries to explain the situation and asks that they contact Justice Scholars. The officer agrees and calls Sam Rivera, Marcel’s coordinator. The officer informs Sam that Marcel has been detained, but if Sam is available, the officer will release Marcel to her care.

Sam picks up Marcel from Saber’s campus police station and immediately notices how shaken he is. She decides to walk with him to her office. She knows she needs to create a calm environment before asking him questions about what happened in class. She offers to do a grounding/mindfulness exercise with Marcel. He is hesitant at first, but after Sam explains how the exercise will help him calm down and feel more secure, he decides to give it a try. Marcel regains composure after box-breathing for 5 minutes. He then shares what happened in class and the pain he felt from the student’s comments and the professor’s actions. Marcel shares that he’s unsure, after this experience, if he can return to this class at all.

Sam listens actively and empathizes with Marcel’s experience. She offers to meet with Marcel and his professor to discuss a possible path back to class. Sam asks Marcel if he would be comfortable bringing Casey Lin, Marcel’s Academic coordinator, into the loop to assist. Marcel agrees.

Sam contacts Casey, and they organize a meeting with Marcel’s professor on Tuesday. On the day of the meeting, Sam, Casey, and the professor gather in a conference room, but Marcel never shows up. Concerned, Sam and Casey follow up with Marcel through email and phone.

Marcel eventually responds, sharing that he is not doing well mentally. The classroom comments and the professor’s response triggered intense panic attacks and depression. He writes, “I want to come back to school, but I don’t think I can. Not like this.”

Sam and Casey meet to discuss next steps. Both wonder whether encouraging Marcel to connect with campus mental health services (CAPS) would be a supportive action or an overstep of professional boundaries. Casey questions her role and whether crisis support is what she should be doing as an academic advisor. She is unsure if she is equipped to handle this.

They decide to reach out. Sam emails Marcel, explaining the services CAPS provides and offers to accompany him if he feels nervous. Casey invites him to an advising session to explore academic options for the current and upcoming semester. Marcel responds positively: he’s interested in CAPS but is nervous. He agrees to meet with Casey in person.

At this point, both Sam and Casey are committed to supporting Marcel but remain unsure how far their roles allow them to go.

 Discussion Questions

1. What does institutional healing look like, and how might campuses build practices of repair and trust with students who experience harm?
2. When a student is disengaging due to trauma, how do professionals balance persistent outreach with respect for the student’s space and agency?
3. How might professional development or training prepare student affairs staff to better support justice-impacted students or others with marginalized identities?

Author Biographies

Amy Gomez (she/her) is a graduate student in the Master of Science in Higher Education (MSHE) program at California State University, Fullerton. She began her academic journey at MiraCosta College, where she earned an Associate of Arts in Liberal Arts, before transferring to California State University, San Marcos, to complete her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology.

Christy Guadarrama (she/her) works with Project Rebound, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting justice-impacted students in achieving their higher education goals. She is pursuing a Master of Science in Higher Education (MSHE) at California State University, Fullerton, and is expected to graduate in Spring 2026.