Alpha Jallow and six other inmates were a part of the first class to receive their degrees through the University of New Haven and the Yale Prison Education Initiative.
“It took a lot to get here. I was incarcerated six years ago. I never thought about attending college,” said Alpha Jallow to NBCCT, who is currently serving time at Macdougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield.
The YPEI led this effort, offering Yale courses in 2018 at Macdougall-Walker Correctional Institution and Manson Youth Institution. In 2021, the University of New Haven joined in, adding the ability for incarcerated students to get two and four-year degrees.
Just over a fifth of inmates receive some form of higher education in prison, UNH officials said. Studies have shown that those who do are far less likely to have behavioral problems in prison, and far less likely to commit crimes once they get out.
“We believe that this is a transformative program, that it has the potential to make a generational impact,” said Zelda Roland, who serves as the director of the Yale-UNH partnership. “We believe that we’re transforming not just individual student’s lives, but also the institutions that we work in, both the universities and correctional system.”
“It should be clear that this cap and gown speaks a different language, speaks a language of accomplishment,” said graduating student Maurice Blackwell.
Blackwell says the program put him on a better path. In 2027, be out of prison with a degree.
“It’s liberating, and I want to move forward and keep prison behind,” he added.
Delivering the commencement address was Governor Ned Lamont, who paid tribute to the academic success of the students.
“I heard this from most of you that we define our own futures and today is the start of that,” said Lamont.
