Finding Herself - A Thousand Miles From Home
Posted on September 11, 2026
When Lindsey Budd enrolled at the University of South Alabama, she was unsure of what she wanted to do with her life or who she wanted to become. In January 2016, a 20-year old Budd moved a thousand miles away from her hometown in East New Market, Maryland, excited for a brand new experience. She entered South as a criminal justice major, and later added psychology to complete a dual major.
While attending South, Budd took courses surrounding topics such as sexual violence, gender based violence, community policing and victimology – all of which altered her view on systems and provided an enlightened lens to view the world. “I knew I wanted to be an active bystander in my community,” supporting those in need through advocacy.
Seeking a research partnership, Budd contacted Associate Professor of Political Science and Criminal Justice Corina Schulze. “I was fortunate to have been in many of Dr. Schulze’s classes, and felt inspired by her passions and motivation, which was one of the reasons I went directly to her,” Budd recalled.
The partnership led to things greater than initially imagined, a co-publication, a rarity for an undergraduate student: Institutional commitment to combating sexual violence: The practices and policies of U.S. universities, in the Wiley Journal of Community Psychology.
“It was through these interactions with professors and gaining knowledge that I came to find interest in the impact of statistics, and the power numbers can hold when relaying information,” Budd said.
After graduating from South Alabama in 2019, alongside her husband – whom she also met while attending South – Budd relocated to Virginia, where she discovered community. In 2022, she found her niche at Transitions Family Violence Services (TFVS), a non-profit 501(c)3 domestic violence program providing free and comprehensive services to survivors and their families on the Virginia Peninsula.
“I leaned on my education and research knowledge and joined the team as a hotline advocate, providing crisis support, safety planning and program services (including emergency shelter) to callers seeking services related to domestic violence or human trafficking experiences,” Budd said. “It was not long before the leadership learned of my writing and education experiences, offering chances to participate in assisting with agency documents. The more participation I had with the leadership team, the more opportunity there was to grow.”
In 2024, Budd was promoted to resource and evaluation manager, where she supervised volunteers, coordinated and hosted mandated training, conducted program evaluation through real-life statistics, wrote for, and assisted with, grants, operated their in-kind donation program, and helped to educate the community about the harmful effects of domestic violence and human trafficking.
“I was able to interact with the community in a whole new way, and learned truly how many individuals out there wanted to support survivors,”Budd shared.
Her growth didn't stop there. In 2025, Budd accepted another promotion as the director of programs, where she now assists in overseeing all the direct-service programs and supports grant obligations through data and statistics.
“I keep a framed cover page of our publication on my office wall, as a reminder of growth and where my commitment began. And every time I am asked what got me interested in this field, I credit my education at South and the passion of my professors. I go through life, every day, thankful for the decision to move a thousand miles away from everything I knew, to become everything I needed to be,” said Budd.
