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Selina Sophia Sheppard

On the road to discovery

Selina Sheppard remembers the exact moment she decided to join the Correctional Service of Canada. "I can't tell you exactly what the man said, or even what he looked like," she says. "All I know is that after he finished, I was sure that I wanted a career in Corrections."

The year was 1999 and Selina was in her first year at the University of Manitoba. "The CSC had a career booth set up on campus," she recalls. "I always thought I'd like a career in justice-with the police or maybe in the courts-so I decided to see what the man in the booth had to say."

Whatever he said, it reinforced what Selina had always suspected, that a career in Corrections was the right choice for her. And despite some concerns from family and friends, Selina says she's sure she made the right decision.

"When I got through my first day on the job at Stony Mountain Institution, working alone in the kitchen with 15-30 inmates, I knew I could do the job. I knew I was in it for the long haul." Still, she admits to feeling a little better about that first day when she found out that all inmates who work that closely with staff are thoroughly screened.

She's discovered a great deal more since joining the CSC in October of 2000. Like the fact that in many ways a prison is more like a community. "I remember thinking that the inmates would be locked up more but, in fact, they're often going to programs or meetings in the institution." And how taking the time to communicate with the inmates can really make a difference. They listen, she says, "and if I can cheer up someone who's depressed, or encourage someone who's down, then I think I'm doing the right thing."

Certainly, Selina did a lot of things right over the past 18 months. In March of 2002, she found out that she had passed a three-part exam that would officially make her a level 2 correctional officer.

"I began by studying the court and police systems, worked my way through an actual problem, including recommending a line of treatment, then went through an interview where I was questioned about things like values." As a level 2 correctional officer, she will prepare offender progress reports and look after increasingly important security-related issues.

For Selina, it's just another step in a journey she's always known she would make. "I know people who have found themselves on the wrong side of the law," she says. "I suppose I always wanted to know why and how it might have happened. Now Selina will not only know why, she'll know she can help others avoid taking a similar path.