SLCC Prison Education Program's New Graduates: "Everything can be taken from me, but not my education. I am my education"

 

On May 12, 28 students graduated from Salt Lake Community College’s (SLCC) Prison Education Program (PEP) at the Utah State Correctional Facility. Students earned Associate of Science degrees in Anthropology, Business, Criminal Justice, and General Studies, with one student completing a degree in Computer Science and Information Systems.

Four graduates spoke to a small audience about how earning an associate’s degree has changed their lives. Melissa Richmond, who earned an associate’s degree in Criminal Justice, shared how earning an education became important to her after she had been stuck in a cycle of addiction and suffering, “mostly self-inflicted,” and was over 40 years old and in prison. “School became my life. It made me realize I have the ability to make great changes in the world.” 

Richmond added, “Life is fragile. Things are broken, things are stolen, things get lost—friends, family, cars, phones homes. Everything can be taken from me, but not my education. I am my education.” 

Phillip Leishman, who earned his associate’s degree in Business, looked to his fellow graduates as he spoke about how many of them may be years away from returning to their families and communities, but striving for education could still make a difference within the prison. “We can inspire others around us through our actions and produce a correctional culture where education becomes the norm, not the exception.” He told his fellow graduates to be “the spark that ignites the way forward to a much more conducive and supportive environment.” 

Graduate Mauren Wall shared that this day was more than just about earning a degree, but about creating change. “I truly believe that we are our own limitation. The day that we recognize this, is the day that you’ve left all excuses that have held you back, behind.” Wall earned an associate’s degree in Business and has been accepted into the University of Utah’s Utah Prison Education Program, where she plans to earn a bachelor’s degree.

A Rising Tide…SLCC Prison Education Program Benefits Society Too

In the past year, over 200 students, men and women, have participated in SLCC classes offered at the Utah State Corrections Facility. 

 

SLCC’s PEP offers five different associate degrees: Anthropology, Business, Criminal Justice, General Studies, and Humanities. More than forty SLCC faculty members, many who teach on SLCC’s campuses, also teach in SLCC’s Prison Education Program. 

 

“I’ve witnessed the transformational power of education among these students, who move from a place of feeling shame and broken to a place of hope and desire to do good,” said David Bokovoy, director of SLCC’s Prison Education Program. “This knowledge not only benefits them with the skills and confidence to succeed outside of prison, but it benefits all of us because they contribute to society in a positive way.” 

 

Bokovoy pointed out an Emory University study that found recidivism dropped by 84% for those earning an associate’s degree. “In short, college students are less likely to return to prison,” said Bokovoy, adding that studies have also shown that for every dollar spent on prison education, it saves taxpayers at least $4 in reincarceration costs.

 

The SLCC Prison Education Program is one of the few in-person options available for students to take classes that can lead to a post-secondary degree in the Utah State Correctional Facility. Currently, SLCC is the only school in the Utah Correctional Facility to offer an associate’s degree. Davis Tech has been offering technical education there since 2010.

SLCC’s prison program started as a small pilot program in 2017 with funding from the Utah State legislature. In 2020, the U.S. Department of Education designated SLCC as a Second Chance Pell experimental site, allowing incarcerated students to use federal Pell Grants to attend. Today, SLCC has one of the largest in-person prison education programs in the country in which faculty engage with students directly and teach face-to-face.