Marijane Tripp is
working hard for her future – and she’s not letting her past stand in her way.Tripp, 26, is now acting
as an intern with the Wood County Prosecutor’s Office. She had previously served two years in prison
following an armed robbery."I have learned a lot of lessons since that time," she said during
a recent interview. "I have learned a lot about myself, and I’m definitely a stronger person than I
was."Tripp spent a total of two years and three months in custody for her part in a November, 2007,
robbery at Huntington Bank in Bowling Green.Originally adopted from Lithuania when she was 9 years old,
Tripp "grew up in a pretty strict household and I just wanted to push boundaries," she said of
what led up to the crime. "I moved out of my parents’ house a little bit before I should have to
pursue a lifestyle of partying. I guess that’s kind of what I wanted at the time, unfortunately, and
that just led to me meeting people that got me more involved in that type of lifestyle. I made some bad
choices."Tripp and Joel Westfall, who also took part in the crime, phoned in bomb threats to
elementary schools in the city as a distraction before the robbery, and later set fire to their getaway
vehicle in Union Hill Cemetery, northwest of the city. They were later caught in Bowling Green, Ky.,
after a hold-up at a pharmacy.Tripp was originally sentenced to four years, but successfully completed a
number of programs while incarcerated and completed 475 hours of community service and was granted early
release.Tripp said the day she was released from jail was a major turning point in her life. While
incarcerated, she’d heard the other inmates talk about what they’d do once released: party, get high, or
go shopping. That didn’t fit in with her own ideas.She wanted to "go back to school. Finish my
degree. I knew from the first week in jail that I didn’t what to end up there again. I would do anything
possible not to end up in that position again."She began working at her father’s pizza shop in
Findlay. Her mother had passed away of lymphoma while she was incarcerated."My father expected that
I go back to school, that I have a job, that I live a law-abiding life, and that’s exactly what I did.
It’s wasn’t very difficult for me. It wasn’t a struggle ever."Tripp, as a Bowling Green High School
student, had participated in the post-secondary options programs at Bowling Green State University.
After high school, she’d started an associate’s degree at Owens Community College, but never finished
it.After her release, she finished her associate’s degree in business administration at Owens and then,
after being denied admission at BGSU, enrolled in the University of Findlay, earning a degree in
business management. She graduated Summa Cum Laude in the top 3 percent of her class as a member of Phi
Kappa Phi honors society."I did two years in one year," she said of her breakneck class
schedule at Findlay, generally taking 26 to 28 credit hours at a time."I was on the fast track, I
knew what I wanted," she said, noting her passion for school and learning."I finished that up.
I graduated last year in August, and since then I have been searching really hard for
employment."She said that from the first day of her release her biggest struggle hasn’t been
staying away from drugs or the wrong crowd. It’s been getting a job."The hardest thing I struggled
with is finding employment," Tripp said, noting that she’s made hundreds, if not thousands of
applications, but when she discloses information about her past, the opportunities stop in their
tracks.Along her journey to find work, she called perhaps the last person one might expect: Wood County
Prosecutor Paul Dobson, the head of the office that tried her case and sent her to jail."I think
she was just kind of reaching out in any direction she could," said Dobson."I had heard about
her from time to time that she was doing really well and that she was trying to turn her life around, so
when she called me I said, if you’re willing, I don’t have a job for you, but I’d be willing to let you
come in here and intern here for a little bit and write you a letter of recommendation.""She
was very excited about the prospect," Dobson added. "She’s been working as much as she can
ever since.""I’m incredibly grateful for Prosecutor Dobson giving me this opportunity at the
Prosecutor’s Office," Tripp said. "I love what I do there."For the office, Tripp works on
discoveries in criminal cases – that is, evidence that must be submitted to the defense counsel. She
looks through evidence to ensure everything necessary for a trial is there and forwards it to the
prosecutor. If something is missing, she contacts the relevant law enforcement agency to make sure it’s
sent over. The prosecutor then looks the evidence over and publishes it for the defense."She’s
doing great," said Dobson. "She is the kind of person who does just a little bit more than you
ask her to every time."Tripp is still looking for the kind of job that will inspire her passion.
While working at the Prosecutor’s Office and the pizza shop, she also finds time to volunteer at the
Wood County Hospital – on her own, and not as a part of a probation requirement."I learn things
very quickly," she said. "There are just so many different areas that I’m looking at and
trying to get to.""I don’t have employment that fulfills some of my needs, like being
passionate about my job," she said. Tripp noted that her own current success is due to the support
of others, including her father, as well as her fiance."He is so supportive. I work about 70 hours
a week now with the pizza shop and (Prosecutor’s Office) and he is just… I’m a lucky woman. That’s all
I need to say."