‘Changed my future’: 31 Utah inmates earn associate’s degrees through SLCC
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — On Monday, 31 inmates in the Utah State Correctional Facility graduated from Salt Lake Community College’s Prison Education Program.
According to a spokesperson with SLCC, most of the graduates’ degrees were in general studies, but there were a few who studied anthropology and criminal justice — and one graduate earned two associate’s degrees through the program.
The Prison Education Program from SLCC first started in 2017 with funding from the Utah State Legislature. In 2020, SLCC was designated as an experimental Second Chance Pell site, which allows students to use federal Pell Grants to attend.
“Providing education in the prison makes so much sense on both a practical level and a human level,” said David Bokovoy, director of SLCC’s Prison Education Program. “It transforms individuals’ sense of self, promotes hope and ability, and this ultimately benefits society.”
Graduates of the program had more than 40 classes to choose from and nine different degrees available.
Four graduates spoke about how their degrees have changed their lives, according to a press release from SLCC. One of the graduates who spoke was Becky Golly, who was convinced to take some classes in 2019 — 27 years after she had graduated high school — by fellow inmates.
Golly earned an associate’s degree in general studies and one in criminal justice.
“The skills, certificates, and degrees I’ve received over the last six years have changed my future in ways I could never have dreamed,” Golly said. “It also positively affects my children’s lives.”
Golly said that her degrees are helping her keep the promise she made to her children when she first got to prison.
“I told them that I cannot change what got me here, but I would change and fix all the unhealthy parts of myself and come home as the mom they always deserved to have,” Golly said.
Another graduate, Bradley Freeze, said earning a degree has helped the graduates learn how to see things differently.
“It has created change in our minds, in how we think, act and feel in our hearts,” Freeze said.
According to SLCC, nearly 300 students in the past year have participated in the classes offered at the Utah State Correctional Facility — which is nearly 10 percent of the population, according to the school. More than 40 faculty members who teach at SLCC also teach in the Prison Education Program.
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