As a Sinclair Community College student, William Beyer never thought he would be in the position he now finds himself in.<\/p>\n
That position, Beyer described, isn\u2019t his status as an inmate at the Dayton Correctional Institute (DCI). And it isn\u2019t how the 43-year-old is nearing the end of his third term in prison.<\/p>\n
Beyer is a successful student in Sinclair\u2019s Advanced Job Training Programs. The program teams with DCI and the Montgomery Education Pre-Release Center (MEPC) to assist prisoners in gaining an education while incarcerated.<\/p>\n
DCI is a medium-security prison that holds close to 500 inmates and was built in 1987, according to Vivian Covington, DCI\u2019s Correctional Warden\u2019s Assistant and Public Information Officer.<\/p>\n
Belinda McBeth, the assistant coordinator for Sinclair\u2019s Advance Job Training program at DCI and the MEPRC, has worked with inmates since 1998. McBeth, a Sinclair graduate, helps inmates at both sites fully experience a college-like atmosphere.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am the eyes, ears and legs of Sinclair since they can\u2019t come,\u201d she said. \u201cWhatever they need, I provide for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
McBeth said associate\u2019s degrees are not earned in the Advance Job Training program. Instead, certificates are earned in areas like engineering or construction.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course, the deterrent is not there, so our students at the prison make very good grades,\u201d McBeth said. \u201cIt\u2019s a boost for them because the majority of them say if they didn\u2019t wind up in prison, they would have ended up dead and never getting an education.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beyer said he feels like a new person because of how education has transformed his thinking. Beyer was first introduced to the prison system in 1990. When Beyer entered prison a third time in 2007 at the London Correctional Institute, something inside of him clicked.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis time around when I came in, I finally got in contact with my mom,\u201d Beyer said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t talk for 15 years. I established a relationship back with her and she kept encouraging me to get enrolled in school while I was at London. So, I tried and tried and never got into (the program).\u201d<\/p>\n
Beyer wasn\u2019t sure what was holding him out of London\u2019s program, but he said something was blocking his way.<\/p>\n
\u201cI finally came to Dayton and got in,\u201d he said, \u201cand I\u2019ve loved it ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n
McBeth said Beyer came into the program with \u201cfake confidence,\u201d and since then he has blossomed into an outstanding student.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s always trying to excel in everything he does,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat I like most is he\u2019s willing to help others.\u201d<\/p>\n
Early troubles<\/strong><\/p>\n When Beyer dropped out of Oak Hills High School in 1983 at the age of 17, he was sure school wasn\u2019t for him. Beyer attributes his difficulties with education to a lack of effort, motivation and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Beyer said he never had a reason to get his education, even during his first two incarcerations. When he began his third term, Beyer said depression set in and he realized he couldn\u2019t rely on laying tile anymore.<\/p>\n \u201cSomething just clicked,\u201d he said. \u201cI ain\u2019t getting any younger. I got maybe 20 years of work left in me. Without college now a days, you\u2019re limited on what you can do.\u201d<\/p>\n Beyer said he laid tile for 15 years, but now his entire goal is to eventually work for himself.<\/p>\n \u201cThe classes I\u2019m taking here are going to help me become a more independent businessman,\u201d he said. \u201cI can\u2019t lay tile forever \u2026 This isn\u2019t life. I don\u2019t like it here. I\u2019m 43 years old. What do I got to look forward to if I keep doing this?\u201d<\/p>\n Time in the classroom<\/strong><\/p>\n In 1995, Beyer earned his GED at 28 years old. During his time at DCI, Beyer has completed three quarters and 35 credit hours. Beyer is working toward receiving an associate degree in Construction Management Technology from Sinclair.<\/p>\n Beyer is enrolled in 15 credit hours this quarter.<\/p>\n Beyer was one of 11 students at DCI who made Sinclair\u2019s Fall Dean\u2019s List. Beyer has made the Dean\u2019s List in two of his three quarters.<\/p>\n \u201cI never thought I\u2019d see my name in the paper,\u201d he said. \u201cMy dad said he had never seen my name in the paper unless it was for something bad. I\u2019m proud of myself. I didn\u2019t think I could do college.\u201d<\/p>\n Covington said the institution\u2019s educational program is beneficial to inmates seeking change.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a huge impact to those inmates looking to improve their lives,\u201d Covington said.<\/p>\n Finding connections<\/strong><\/p>\n While at DCI, Beyer got involved in a program that lets inmates help raise rescued dogs. Paco, a greyhound, has lived with Beyer in his cell for the past three months.<\/p>\n Beyer said he wants to start his own non-profit organization called Food for Paws. His goal is to provide food for hungry dogs.<\/p>\n \u201cAt Christmas time, people were waiting in line for food. What about the animals?\u201d<\/p>\n Beyer said. \u201cI want to do something where I can help somebody else.\u201d<\/p>\n Beyer said his mom has played a huge part in how his life is being turned around and she has become a very important figure. Beyer said family problems had a lot to do with why he didn\u2019t contact his mom for 15 years.<\/p>\n \u201cInstead of her worrying about me, I took myself out of the equation,\u201d he said. \u201cI took myself away from them. My mom and sister would look on the Internet to see if I was in jail. If I was in jail, they knew I was safe.\u201d<\/p>\n Looking forward<\/strong><\/p>\n On July 17, Beyer will be given his release from DCI. He said he plans to move to Cincinnati to live with his mom and stepfather while he gets acclimated to society again.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really positive that (Beyer\u2019s mom) is becoming such an important part of his life,\u201d McBeth said. \u201cI think now he has his life on track.\u201d<\/p>\n Beyer said nothing is going to stop him from commuting to Sinclair and enrolling for fall classes to finish what he started. He said he might also take classes at the Courseview Center in Mason or online.<\/p>\n \u201cI never finished anything in my life,\u201d he said. \u201cI want to finish Sinclair. Without Sinclair giving me this chance to finish school, I would have never got into it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As a Sinclair Community College student, William Beyer never thought he would be in the position he now finds himself in. That position, Beyer described, isn\u2019t his status as an inmate at the Dayton Correctional Institute (DCI). And it isn\u2019t how the 43-year-old is nearing the end of his third term in prison. Beyer is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[1008,278,1010,1009,1272,1011,1012,14,137],"class_list":["post-4232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tartan-news","tag-correctional","tag-dayton","tag-deans","tag-institute","tag-joseph-stueve","tag-list","tag-prison","tag-sinclair","tag-student"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":false,"source_text":false,"source_url":false},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5s3vR-16g","jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4232"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4232\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4282,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4232\/revisions\/4282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}