Calvin Prison Initiative graduates take ‘opportunity to grow’
IONIA, Mich. (WOOD) — The Calvin Prison Initiative on Friday celebrated the newest class to complete its program and earn college degrees from behind bars in Ionia.
“I really got to know who I was a person and Calvin also gave me some tools to help me grow,” graduate Cornail Richardson said.
Twelve men serving time at the Richard A. Handlon Correctional Facility received bachelor’s degrees and 22 earned their associate’s degrees, all in faith, community leadership and human services.
Calvin joins MI colleges to bring higher education to prisons
Shawn Davis has been in prison for 24 years and has eight more until he is eligible for parole.
“When I saw the opportunity, I was like, ‘This may be the opportunity to grow,'” Davis said.
Originally from Detroit, he acknowledges what led to him being incarcerated. He is serving time in connection to a murder. He says friends of his at the time killed someone.
“Through advice from my attorney, I didn’t show up to testify and I got charged maybe six months later with aiding and abetting,” Davis said.
His faith and the Calvin Prison Initiative give him hope for a fresh start.
Students in the program attend classes inside the prison and spend time reading and completing assignments, just like students on Calvin’s campus.
“I had to learn to really communicate in the college language because the Calvin professors, they expect the same things from me that they expect from 18-year-olds on campus. They’re not gonna lower the standard,” Davis said.
The program is in nine Michigan prisons. It includes people serving life sentences, with the hope they can make a difference for others who will be released, according to executive director Todd Cioffi.
“When they graduate, we put them on a team of about eight to 10 guys and we send them to another prison and they become leaders at that prison,” Cioffi said.
Former Calvin student brings film back home
The program is made up of 125 men and gets about 80 to 100 applicants every year for just 25 openings. So far, five classes have graduated with bachelor’s degrees.
The executive director says they have seen great success.
“The guys who’ve paroled out of our program are about 20,” Cioffi said. “Not one of them has been involved in the criminal justice system again.”
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com.
