Class of 2024 Testimonials
The educational journey of this third Prison Graduation Initiative (PGI) cohort at California State Prison, Los Angeles County, took a particularly challenging path to their graduation ceremony. Pursuing higher education while incarcerated is difficult enough, but pursuing higher education during the COVID-19 epidemic—through lockdowns, isolation, and sickness, without access to face-to-face instruction and the support of peers—is a testament to this cohort members' grit, resolve, and determination to transform their lives and become the best men they can be.
Art B.
"Growing up, I never thought I would have ended up in the circumstances I find myself in today. Twenty-five years ago, at the age
of 23 years old, I was sentenced to Life Without the Possibility of Parole (LWOP) for murder. A sentence like that breeds a sense of hopelessness, which is what it is intended to do."
Read Art's testimonial
Edwin C.
"I was sentenced to Life Without the Possibility of Parole for crimes I committed when I was 17 years old. I was so misguided, and my thoughts were deeply distorted that for so many years I only focused on how the crimes I committed had affected me. I blamed everything and everyone for the predicament I found myself in."
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Jose "Hozer" F.
"Hi everyone! My name is Jose “Hozer” Flores. First, I want to thank the entire Cal State LA faculty, and all the students, for always embracing us and considering us part of the Cal State LA family. Yay, Golden Eagles! Even though we are incarcerated, you all have always considered us equal, and never looked at any of us as just a number."
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Lester G.
"Higher education placed me in a position where I choked in my trauma. I was abandoned by my father at the age of 12, but there is a chance to reconnect—even 23 years later. I know how it feels to be fatherless—it numbed me. I also took someone’s life and left their child fatherless. The child will never get to know their dad ..."
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Freddie H.
"Hello, my name is Freddie, and I would like to express how education has changed my perspective in life. Education has been what separates those who are comfortable with the status quo and those who wish to rise above their current situation. Cal State LA has been instrumental in my growth as a human being; never limiting my quest to view the world through a critical and analytical lens."
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Marquell S.
"I am Marquell Smith, a Cal State LA bachelor’s degree in communication major and a blessed of child of God who has learned how to appreciate the Good Lord’s loving grace! Yes, I have always been a blessed child of God; however, my everyday actions, that were heavily influenced by my warped thought process prior to 2017, are examples of my lack of awareness to the existence of this blessing."
Read Marquell's testimonial