We have concluded our 2017 scholarship application cycle and have made the following selections and awards:
- Scholar No. 1 has been in prison for 3.5 years and has about 6 years left on his prison terms. He is 22-years old. He is taking Community College of Rhode Island (“CCRI”) classes offered at the Rhode Island Department of Corrections (“RIDOC”) and is also a tutor for some of the education programs there. His plan is to get an A.A. degree from CCRI and to take correspondence courses from Adams State University towards a B.A. degree, both while incarcerated. He will be the first in his family to graduate from college.
He plans to use his $1,000 award towards courses from Adams State University.
- Scholar No. 2 is scheduled to be released late this year or early next year. He is 39-years old and has been incarcerated for a large part of his life. While in prison he has taken several CCRI classes and has a 4.0 GPA in those classes. He plans to continue his studies at CCRI upon release, planning to get an AS in Computer Studies and Information Processing. Afterwards, he will transfer to either Rhode Island College or the University of Rhode Island to continue his studies. He will be the first in his family to attend college.
I think the following statement from him precisely illustrates the importance of providing educational opportunities for people in prison:
“I truly believe that education will be the most significant determining factor of my successful reintegration and future economic, family and communal support. Any financial and motivational support you may grant me will go a long way to insuring just that.”
He plans to use his $1,000 award for tuition at CCRI upon release.
- Scholar No. 3 is one of two inductees to Phi Theta Kappa (“PTK”), the two-year college honor society, from the RIDOC this year. The college coordinator at the RIDOC states that this is the first time he can remember PTK inducting members from the RIDOC. While at the RIDOC he has earned 36 college credits and has a 3.97 GPA in college-level classes. He has been incarcerated for 18 years and is eligible for parole in October 2022.
He plans to pursue an A.A. in Liberal Arts or a B.A. in in Theology. He is the first is his family to attend college.
He plans to use his $1,000 award towards courses from Adams State University.
- Scholar No. 4 has been incarcerated for 14 years and is scheduled for release this December. While in prison he earned a AA degree with honors from CCRI, graduating with a 3.44 GPA. Before going to prison he was enrolled at Johnson & Wales University, earning 24 transferable credits. Together with the credits he earned at CCRI while in prison, he has 69 college credits total that he wants to use toward a B.A. degree. He is currently in the College Unbound (“CU”) program pursuing that goal. At CU, he is studying Business Administration and Organizational Leadership. However, Johnson & Wales is refusing to release his credits unless he pays approximately $2,000 he owes to the university.
He plans to use his $500 award to pay Johnson & Wales for the release of college credits. TTEF determined that this was an eligible use of the award.
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