Faculty and students attended a presentation on Wednesday, Nov. 12 where Sinclair distance learning students from four correctional institutions spoke, via satellite, of their accomplishments, obstacles, and future goals in their educational careers.
\nTwenty distance learning and inmate students from Pickaway Correctional Institution, Allen Correctional Institution, Ohio Reformatory for Women, and Dayton Correctional Institution participated in the workshop. The workshop\/ presentation was held in Building 14 in the Forum.
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\nPamela Chambers, professor in the criminal justice department, organized the workshop to allow the Sinclair faculty to hear from students at the institutions, as to how Sinclair could better help them in their educational journey. The inmates communicated through live streaming video, which was projected on the front wall of the auditorium.
\nChambers worked for the State of Ohio as a parole officer before teaching at Sinclair. She explained that the work she does with the students in the institutions is to her a continuation of her work with the state, and that \u201cit is richly rewarding.\u201d
\n\u201cI am one decision away from possibly being an inmate like one of them, \u201c said Chambers as she stressed how one wrong decision can negatively affect anyone.
\nChambers opened her presentation saying, \u201c By 2014 one out of 35 adults have some kind of contact with the system, whether it be incarceration, probation, or parole.\u201d
\nDuring the presentation Chambers asked the inmates a series of questions including what obstacles they face inside the institutions while trying to achieve their educational goals and what they plan to do after release.
\nThere seemed to be a consensus among the students at the four institutions on what obstacles they faced. Class cancellations due to teacher shortages, not having enough books or computers for all students and finding quiet places to study wee among the common themes.
\nTerry Gavin, ACI inmate, responded to Chamber\u2019s question while also lightening the tone of the presentation and invoking laughter in the audience.
\n\u201cHere you don\u2019t have a quiet place to study, you have to go back to the block and that\u2019s like trying to study at the club or something,\u201d said Gavin.
\nMichelle McDew and Christine Moles, both inmates at DCI, felt a lack of resources was major obstacles they face.
\n\u201cI personally learn better when the teacher is right there in front of me,\u201d said McDew while talking about the shortage of teachers that teach in the institutions rather than online or through satellite equipment.
\nThe lack of computers available and informational resources were also presented to the faculty as obstacles.
\n\u201cWe have a line of people waiting, We just don\u2019t have enough computers is the biggest thing here,\u201d said McDew.
\n\u201cI\u2019ve written so many papers and lucky for me I have people at home that I can say to, \u2018Hey can you Google this information?\u2019 said Moles. \u201cIf I didn\u2019t have that, I can\u2019t imagine how much harder it would be to write my papers.\u201d
\nChambers stated to the audience that facilitators and instructors at times have had to print information and then provide it to the students for them to complete assignments. Chambers also informed the students and audience that all concerns would be presented in an upcoming staff meeting.
\nMany of the students expressed that they wanted to give back to their communities when asked by Chambers what their future plans were after release.
\nMary Ballinger, ACI inmate, discussed opening a non-profit that would work with teenage girls.
\n\u201cYou see young individuals who are lost, they actually become lost at a very early age. I would like to mentor young girls,\u201d said Ballinger.
\nAndrea Walker, also a ACI inmate, talked about how she wanted to help others.
\n\u201cI would also like to, when I\u2019m out of here, put myself in a position where I can be a motivator to people in this position right now, whether it\u2019s going to shelters or county jails or things like that,\u201d said Walker.
\nShe also mentioned why she wants to motivate others.
\n\u201cI know I find that a lot of times the most motivating thing for me is to see someone that went through the same things as me and they\u2019re now doing better,\u2019 said Walker. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to deny that it\u2019s possible when you see examples of it and I want to be an example like that.\u201d
\nRachel ford, a Sinclair traditional student and former pupil of Chambers, was present at the workshop. Ford is a student worker at Sinclair Central and is also a student ambassador.
\nIt was planned for her to speak to the inmates about her personal struggle with addiction and her experience with the legal system.
\nHowever, Ford was unable to speak to the inmates due to time constraints.
\nWhen the presentation concluded Ford discussed her past and how Sinclair has played a role in her recovery. \u201cBeing here has definitely kept me out of trouble and I\u2019ve learned a lot being in my classes,\u201d said Ford.
\n\u201cThis institution is like my sanctuary. Just getting yourself on the right path.\u201d Ford also talked about her future plans and how she will utilize her Sinclair education.
\nI just want a job to be able to help people that have gone through. Helping people in general,\u201d said Ford. \u201c Being selfless and helping other people help me. That\u2019s part of what keeps me sober and keeps me going.\u201d
\n\u201cThe validity of seeing that somebody did make a poor life choice and did change, Rachel is a perfect example,\u201d said chambers. \u201cI know she spent many years in the juvenile justice system and I\u2019ve done nothing but watch her blossom and grow since she\u2019s been a student here at Sinclair.\u2019
\nDuring the presentation students from the institutions also discussed how Sinclair is helping them with their future.
\n\u201cTaking the classes here [ while incarcerated] really wasn\u2019t the way I planned on going [to college], but I\u2019m very grateful for it because it made me focus on what I\u2019m good at and the certificates are really going to help me,\u201d said McDew. \u201c I\u2019m excited to go home and get this started.\u2019
\nMichael Federer, inmate at PCI, plans on opening an interior design and antiques business after release.
\n\u201cI\u2019ve already had a college education so everything I\u2019ve been able to accomplish with Sinclair has added to that,\u201d said Federer. \u201cI feel much more secure in being able to do that and being successful when I get out.\u201d
\nJohn Madison, PCI inmate, has spent the last twenty years designing computer systems and has spent 11 semesters on the Dean\u2019s list.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s trying to get the most out of life that I can possibly get while I\u2019m incarcerated,\u201d said Madison.
\nChambers discussed her thoughts on the presentation after it had concluded.
\n\u201cWhen students talk about talking to younger generations or going back and talking to youth groups or people in jail, they will provide, because it\u2019s better to hear from somebody that\u2019s been there,\u201d said Chambers. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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