Sarah Laboy-Almodovar is the Academic Advisor and the Program Administrator for the Program in Criminal Justice. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Rutgers University. Her passion has always been books: her favorite genre of literature was Shakespeare. As an undergraduate at Rutgers, Sarah was part of Latin Images: she lived in special interest housing on College Avenue campus dedicated to Latino culture and community. It was here that she developed a deeper understanding of her heritage, her culture, and its language. The special interest floor of the dorm she lived in at the time helped to foster a sense of community between hallmates, and in the process helped Sarah to learn more about herself—she still remains friends with many of the people from her floor.

Sarah began working at Rutgers as an undergraduate where she started a position in the Graduate Admissions Office. She was eventually hired as the secretarial assistant in the Minority Advancement Program which was a part of the Graduate School Dean’s Office. After working there for 6 years, she began working as the secretarial assistant to the Director of the Center for Latino Arts and Culture. Sarah started at the Center when it was founded and first opened its doors. She helped establish the Center from the ground up, and launched the opening with a grand exhibit and mural project constructed by a Latino artist. One of the highlights was working on hosting artwork from a Chilean Exhibition part of a global tour. Sarah was continuously working with artists, writers, playwrights, authors, and many members of the Latino cultural arts community. For her dedication to the Center, she received the Award for Excellence.

In 1998 Sarah took a position as an administrative assistant and office manager for the Livingston College Dean’s Office. She worked there for 10 years, and she oversaw all of the administrative duties of Livingston College. During her time there, she also began working as the Program Administrator to the Program in Criminal Justice (then called the Administration of Justice) in 1999 when it moved from the School of Social Work to become part of Livingston College. When the Program in Criminal Justice was integrated into the School of Arts and Sciences, Sarah began working there full time as both the Program Administrator and the Academic Advisor. She enjoys working with such stellar Program faculty who are involved in world-renowned and national projects and research, as well as being able to advise and guide students in the program to succeed in their major and beyond Rutgers. One of the highlights for Sarah is being able to hear success stories from her students after they have graduated from Rutgers and have begun their careers.