Inmates at Norco facility earn college degrees
Press-Enterprise 2/1/07
The foursome is the first graduating class of a pilot college program in the state prison. For the inmates, the degree represents a chance at a viable living outside of crime and a rare opportunity to celebrate their accomplishments with friends and family.
For the state, their success is a shot at reducing the recidivism rate that overwhelms California prisons, jails and courts. With nearly 70 percent returning to prison after being released and nearly 172,000 California inmates, something has to change, corrections officials said.
Along with the four college graduates, roughly 70 more men and women at the prison celebrated earning their General Education Development credentials.
The men wore black caps and gowns, and the women wore gold. The four college graduates stood out in sky blue.
For Johnny Gonzales, the event was more than a ceremony. It marked a crossroad in a life he spent the past 11 years trying to change.
"I'm a completely different person now than when I left home," said the 26-year-old Pico Rivera native, who entered prison at age 15. Convicted of second-degree murder, robbery and carjacking, Gonzales was a teen immersed in drugs and gang violence.
"I'm doing 16 years and I can't afford to do another 16," he said
It hasn't been easy, but Gonzales said he's spent his time in jail avoiding anything that would add to the stigma he will face as a convicted felon. He said that's why he earned his Associate of Arts degree with a 3.54 grade-point average. It's why he has no tattoos, no gang, no drug habit, and no disciplinary record, he said.
"It's going to be hard enough when I get out," Gonzales said. "I don't want the stigma of prison with me. I want to be around normal people... and not have anything about me that says 'prison.' "
On the path that led him to prison, friends and family doubted he would survive. He spent his time in prison trying to surprise the many he had disappointed, he said. Now he's become first member of his family to earn a degree.
His mother works in the meat-packing industry and couldn't afford to miss work to attend the ceremony, he explained.
"But I know she's proud of me," he said.
The ceremony also heralds a new era for the prison. Though its first graduating class comprised only four students, 200 more are plugging away at their associate degrees. The program is affiliated with the Riverside Community College District and other area community colleges.
A handful of prisons around the state have also teamed up with local colleges, department spokeswoman Terry Thornton said. Statewide, roughly 4,600 inmates are enrolled in college courses.
Last year, 130 California prisoners earned associate degrees and one earned a master's, she said. About 15 percent of the state's inmates are enrolled in academic programs, and the average reading level for inmates hovers around seventh grade. Education is generally understood to reduce recidivism, Thornton said.
College education for inmates is something that teacher Patricia Scott has been dreaming about since she began teaching at the prison 18 years ago.
"Seeing them graduate is my drug. It's my high," said Scott, who was a driving force behind the prison's college program. "Every year I would watch them get their GEDs, but they'd have another two or three years to (serve) without being able to take their education further."
Teary-eyed, she watched her beaming graduates hug their families.
"There are more than 4,000 inmates here, and it just gets to me that there is this real humanity being wasted. If there is anything I can do to steer them in the right direction to do something worthwhile and make their families proud, it's worth it," she said.
Glennis Bradford's eyes watered as she held her son in front of the cheering crowd Wednesday. Nyingi Bradford, 36, earned his Associate of Arts degree and plans to earn his bachelor's in sociology at UCLA.
"When he was sent to prison, I made him promise me that he would finish school," she said. "This made me realize he is still hopeful."