'This is yours forever': Prisoners celebrate their graduation from Ashland University

GRAFTON, Ohio — With jumbo-sized index cards in hand and a hand-carved wooden lion's head around his neck, William walked up to the podium for his commencement address.

More than two dozen men clad in caps and gowns packed the sanctuary at Grafton Correctional Institution in Lorain County. Their friends and families sat across the aisle, beaming with pride. In just a few minutes, the men would receive their diplomas from Ashland University.

But William — whose last name is withheld by request of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections — told his fellow graduates and loved ones that getting an education was not always a priority or even a desire. It was something he had once taken for granted.

William had previously been enrolled at the University of Akron but was incarcerated in 2005 and never finished his degree. He wasn't convinced that college was for everyone. But seeds of wisdom planted by his great-grandfather, he said, reminded him years later that education could be a catalyst.

"He would say, 'Get it up here,'" William said, raising an index finger to his temple, "'and no one can take that away from you.'"

That seed moved him to enroll at Ashland University, a private Christian university in Northeast Ohio that offers prison education programs in 13 states and Washington, D.C. William adjusted to online learning and yearned for an in-person lecture (something his younger self would never believe,) but soon enough he was sending TedX videos to his family. Even as he experienced loss and grief behind bars, including the death of his 33-year-old son in 2020, William kept at his studies.

Now, the 48-year-old holds two Ashland degrees, an associate in general studies and a bachelor's in communication with a sociology minor.

"Today is abut more than titles bestowed," William said. "It represents a journey. Challenges faced, goals met, capabilities recognized."

Education, he said, is redemption.

"I made a mistake to get in here," said William, who is serving 27 years to life for aggravated murder, tampering with evidence, having a weapon under disability and a drug possession charge. He is eligible for parole in 2031.

"Now, I want to be an example of discipline and be an example to my family," he said. "They can say, 'Uncle did this.'"

Grafton Correctional Institution holds one commencement ceremony a year for its Ashland University graduates. Eighty-eight men at Grafton are currently enrolled in Ashland programs, and this year, 28 graduates participated in the celebration. Twenty earned associate degrees and eight earned bachelor's degrees. More than a third graduated with honors. Six wore red, white and blue cords as veterans.

It's always an emotional day to see the men graduate, said Warden Keith Foley.

"The stigma of being incarcerated goes too far, and that needs to change," Foley said. "I've seen a lot of these men grow up. That's how everyone and the world should view these men. They are outstanding."

Jeremy Vogel echoed the sentiment.

As Ashland's state director for Ohio and Kentucky correctional programs, Vogel said he knows how difficult it is to get a degree in a traditional college setting.

"For these men to do this in this environment? It's impressive," Vogel said.

Deleasa Randall-Griffiths, director and chair of the online undergraduate communication program at Ashland, returned to Grafton to give the keynote address. Thirty years ago, Randall-Griffiths visited Grafton once a week to teach, and so much has changed since then.

It was around that time that Congress eliminated Pell Grant eligibility for incarcerated people in 1994. College offerings were scaled back, she said, but Ashland never stopped teaching.

The U.S. Department of Education began piloting a Second Chance Pell Experiment in 2015 to expand college offerings again for people in prison. Two years later, Ashland created a bachelor's degree offering for incarcerated students. And this July marked the first time in nearly three decades that imprisoned students can apply for federal Pell Grants once more.

"We are seeing firsthand the results of our hard work," Randall-Griffiths said.

Randall-Griffiths praised the men for their own hard work in "being an excellent learner, regardless of where that learning took place."

"This is yours forever. You worked hard, you persevered, and no one can take this away from you," she said.

As Vogel read off each of the men's names, they received their diplomas and shook the hands of their site directors. Foley gave each man a bear hug.

All of the men who earned associate degrees plan to enroll in a bachelor's program. As for William, he hopes to find a master's program that will admit him. He is a poet and a playwright, and he has dreams of teaching at a community college or an HBCU (historically Black colleges and universities) one day after he's released.

Graduation isn't the end, he said. Just the next step in his lifelong education journey.

Another chance to get it up here, William said, moving an index finger to the temple, where no one can take it away from him.

Sheridan Hendrix is a higher education reporter for The Columbus Dispatch. Sign up for Extra Credit, her education newsletter, here.

shendrix@dispatch.com

@sheridan120

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 'This is yours forever': Prisoners celebrate their college graduation