Global/Local

Dr. Zakia Maroof

Global

by Jeremy Craig | Photography by Carolyn Richardson

Dr. Zakia Maroof, M.D., has seen how civil war and the repressive Taliban regime have caused the specter of ill health - and even death - to hang over the women and children of her native Afghanistan. Now, with the lessons she has learned from Georgia State's Institute of Public Health, she hopes to help rebuild her country's shattered health care system.

"It will take years, but we are working to build the capacity to stand on our own feet," she said. "Women and mothers as main caregivers will contribute a lot if they are enabled, educated and empowered."

Dr. Maroof wrapped up her on-site studies in December 2009 and returned home. Because of the difficulty coming back to the U.S., she has been part of an innovation in education - defending her thesis via Skype, becoming the first public health student at GSU to do so.

"It was a risk for me to come to the U.S., and it was not easy, but [neither is] contributing to change for my country," she said. "I am very determined to work with other Afghans who are working to help bring change."

Christina Rupp

Local

by Renee DeGross Valdes | Photography by Meg Buscema

Christina Rupp was three weeks into her internship at the Georgia Innocence Project when she received a letter from Michael Marshall.

Marshall had turned to the Georgia Innocence Project after he was incarcerated for allegedly stealing a truck at gunpoint in Hapeville, Ga., in 2007.

Rupp's instincts compelled her to dig deeper.

"I thought, 'Wow, something is not right about this case,"' said Rupp, 26, who will graduate this spring from the College of Law.

Even after her internship, Rupp volunteered to see Marshall's case through. She discovered that the police never tested a cell phone and T-shirt found near the crime scene for DNA, so she pushed for a test of the evidence. As it turns out, the DNA didn't match that of Marshall's.

Marshall's case turned out to be the Georgia Innocence Project's fastest moving exoneration ever. After spending two years behind bars, he was set free last December.

"He was so thankful," Rupp said. "It was very exciting and very emotional to know how it was going to change his life."