The following is an excerpt from NPEP’s Summer 2023 newsletter. You can read the full newsletter here.
Dear NPEP community,
Welcome to the Northwestern Prison Education Program (NPEP) newsletter!
Since celebrating our first and second cohorts as they graduated with their associate degrees from Oakton College last year at Stateville Correctional Center, we’ve welcomed 45 new students to our program in just the past six months. Cohort three began its first quarter of classes this winter, and cohort four recently began its classes.
Close to 400 people applied to NPEP from prisons across Illinois, which is the most applications we’ve ever received — and the first time we’ve opened admissions statewide. These new students are joining a community of scholars who lift up each other’s voices and work every day to create a better world for themselves, for their loved ones, and for society as a whole.
In addition, we launched our new Justice Fellows Program, which accepts five individuals who have been directly impacted by the criminal legal system for a one-year term of leadership in our program. Justice Fellows are given opportunities to draw upon their lived experiences and expertise to inform NPEP’s work. Two of our Fellows, Maria Garza and Broderick Hollins, are current NPEP students who have continued to pursue their education since returning home.
We have also welcomed Josias Escobedo, our new program coordinator, and Colin Hanner, our writer and media relations coordinator, to assist in helping to grow awareness and communication around NPEP.
As the first half of the year comes to a close, we’re delighted with the tremendous progress we’ve made. But with NPEP’s first Northwestern graduation on the horizon — the first time in history that incarcerated students will receive a bachelor’s degree from a top 10 university — we still have much to look forward to.
Thank you for your continued support of NPEP!
With warm wishes,
Jennifer Lackey
Director, Northwestern Prison Education Program