- Name: Joseph Bashore
- Pronouns: He/Him
- Hometown: Halifax, Pennsylvania
- College/University: Rutgers University-Newark
Tell us a little about yourself?
I am a nontraditional student attending Rutgers Newark, where I am double majoring in Public Administration and Philosophy. I am a member of the first NextGen cohort at Rutgers and will graduate by the end of December 2026. After graduation, I plan to go to law school in Fall 2027. I am interested in a career in public interest law, specifically, working in the government or nonprofit sector as a public defender. Fun fact, before going back to school I worked as a chef in NYC
What is your dream job? What kind of impact do you hope to make?
My dream job is to first become a public defender and then open a nonprofit public defense organization that is dedicated to advocating for more fair and equitable criminal justice reform policies. One such policy I am interested in addressing is to advocate for the abolition of the death penalty. I would like to reform our justice system as well from being punitive to focus on restoration and addressing the underlying factors that led to criminal behavior.
Who is your favorite public servant and why?
My favorite public servant is Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, because he is doing the work that I am passionate about doing.