In the United States today, approximately 1.8 million people are behind bars, and less than 5 percent of them will complete a college degree, according to recent statistics. This leaves many grappling with fewer opportunities and a tougher road to financial stability once they are released.
The Boston College Prison Education Program (BCPEP) is changing this outlook, one philosophy class at a time.
As the largest prison education program in Massachusetts, BCPEP offers inmates at MCI-Shirley, a medium-security men’s prison in Shirley, Mass., the chance to obtain a liberal arts education. Upon completing their sentences, students can continue their education and complete their degrees on campus at the Woods College of Advancing Studies.
For participants like Nurudeen Alabi, the program has made all the difference.
“When you are in a difficult position but find someone who doesn’t judge you and tries to teach you, and even tries to learn from you, it is an amazing thing that can change your life, that can put you on the right path,” Alabi said. “And that’s what they’re doing. That’s what their goal is.”
BCPEP began in 2019 as a small initiative, but it has grown steadily over the years. Patrick Filipe Conway, the program’s director, has played a major role in expanding the program’s reach and impact.
“When I stepped in, I think we were running four courses that semester,” Conway said. “We’re now running 11 courses per semester, plus a transitory course for students on campus.”
Not only have the opportunities for prisoners grown but so have the number of prisoners who participate in the program. The program’s first cohort had 16 students. Now, 80 students are taking classes either at MCI-Shirley or on campus, according to Conway.
The program provides, as Conway sees it, an experience that transcends the prison’s fences and concrete walls.
“I think of our program as not a prison education program but a Boston College program that happens to take place inside of a prison,” Conway said.
The program has proved to be an unparalleled experience for its students.
Alabi found his philosophy courses to be eye-opening.
“Taking that class with Professor McGill just opened my eyes to what’s bigger out there—just different ways of thinking, different perspectives of looking at a situation,” Alabi said.
Conway sees transformative moments like this one as central to the program’s success.
“These types of opportunities, where you can tangibly have impacts on people’s lives for the better, are rare,” Conway said.
Conway believes that BC faculty, who teach all the courses in the program, have been instrumental in enhancing its quality. Demetrius Goshen, another student in the program, said he appreciated the opportunity to dialogue with his professors.
“Once I realized that the professors were actually real professors … I realized I could do way more than what I thought I could do,” Goshen said. “They weren’t just trying to bring it to us—they were trying to get us to bring our experience, our feelings to the program.
On Sept. 23, BCPEP surpassed a major milestone when it held a graduation ceremony for its first three graduates. But making this event possible behind prison walls was not exactly a straightforward process, Conway said.
“We were able to bring in a brass band to the prison that plays at graduations on campus. We had Devin McCourty from the Patriots speak at it,” Conway said. “It took a long while and a lot of effort to get to that point.”
The significance of the graduation was not lost on the students. Goshen said he felt the weight of a graduation, seeing it as the culmination of his classmates’ hard work and dedication to self-improvement.
“The graduation was just such an amazing and powerful experience that you had to be there in order to feel it,” Goshen said.
Beyond the impact it had on the students, the graduation also served as an opportunity to increase awareness of the program.
“[The graduation brought] awareness that education could make an impact in somebody’s life,” Alabi said.
Later this spring, the program will have, for the first time, a student graduating on campus.
“We’ll have our first student, Nurudeen, graduating on campus this coming spring, and there will be a whole number of students to follow him, which is super exciting,” Conway said.
Despite the success of this program, it remains difficult to implement elsewhere. According to PEP participants, prison systems are sometimes unwilling to cooperate with such programs.
“Being a student inmate in jail is extremely difficult,” Goshen said. “The obstacles are very challenging … the facility often wanted to not facilitate us going to class.”
Beyond the educational barriers in prison, Conway said the students in the program face another daunting challenge—reentering society.
“There’s so many challenges in reentry for students, from housing to transportation to mental health support to career development and jobs,” Conway said.
These issues are compounded by the societal stigma that often surrounds formerly incarcerated individuals— a reality Alabi and the other participants know all too well.
“Being incarcerated, people have stigmas against us that we probably are not smart and good enough,” Alabi said.
These stigmas only motivate participants to work harder. Rather than letting the past define them, Alabi said he and the other students are fighting to be recognized for their merits instead.
“We don’t want handouts,” Alabi said. We were going to work for it.”
Conway reiterated that more work needs to be done, especially in supporting the personal and academic endeavors of students both in and out of prison After incarceration, many students struggle to adjust back to normal life with minimal support.
“People are not comfortable bringing students to campus,” Conway said. “We have taken an opposite approach, where we want to make sure our students feel super supported on campus.”
Conway said the program is committed to applying a holistic approach to the process of reentry into society. Beyond the classroom, he added, the program attempts to address the full range of challenges formerly incarcerated individuals face.
“We’re really robust in what we’re doing right now, so we’re ready to take the next steps,” Conway said.
Conway said he frequently hears from participants about how the program has changed their lives. He also occasionally receives heartfelt messages from their family members, who describe the transformative impact it has had on their loved ones’ futures.
“You can tangibly hear from guys the impact the program is having on their lives,” Conway said. “And even sometimes their family members reach out to tell us the impact it’s having on their sons’, brothers’, or fathers’ lives.”
The program’s success has become a powerful source of motivation for its administrators, driving them to keep pushing forward despite the challenges. For Conway, seeing the positive change in the lives of participants reinforces the importance of his work.
“You do have to take—amid all the challenges and the hard work of it—a step back and say, ‘Wow,’” Conway said. “How cool is that, for this group of students to get to experience something like this and have more hope to develop something positive for themselves.”
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