“Screaming and crying.” That’s how Serena Nunn described her joyful reaction when President Obama issued her a pardon on Monday.

Like many of the 78 ex-felons pardoned this week, Nunn had been convicted of a low-level drug offense. But her story is unique. After spending more than a decade in federal prison, she graduated from the University of Michigan Law School and is now a state public defender in Atlanta.