SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake Community College held its first graduation ceremony in the history of the Utah Department of Corrections with 23 students receiving a certificate of completion or associate's degree.
The students take classes through Salt Lake Community College's Prison Education Program with the goal of job placement after they've served their time.
Ferosa Bluff was just one of the students who received her associate's degree in General Science.
"We have such a unique environment here in the prison," Bluff said. "Most of our assignments were handwritten. We have no use of internet access. So with all those challenges and difficulties that we faced, I think today is even more special because we persevered."
Now, she's working on her bachelor's degree and hopes to specialize in exercise science.
"I took everything that was available because I felt that all learning was important for me while I was here," she said.
Bluff was part of the pilot program that was launched in 2017 for inmates. Though she graduated before Monday's ceremony, the COVID-19 pandemic put a delay in the celebration. It made the occasion that much sweeter for the students receiving certificates or associate's degrees.
"I've always wanted to be part of any education that's being offered," Bluff said. "So whether it was here or out there, it was something that is important to me throughout my life. I was looking forward to any educational opportunities here in the prison So when it came about, I was like one of the first to sign up."
David Bokovoy leads the program and said the graduation ceremony was an "incredible day."
"We were able to honor the accomplishments of 23 individuals who chose to pursue higher education while earning associates degrees or academic certificates that will help them not only with jobs and opportunities in their future but transform the way that they see themselves as individuals," he reflected. "It transforms their families and our community as a whole to be able to engage in these pursuits in the face of such challenges, living a life of incarceration."
Bokovoy explained that studies cite that 65% of those who earn a degree while incarcerated will never return to prison.
"It helps them to think critically and to keep a job, they learn to interact positively in a social environment such as a class, talking about subjects such as political science with people who disagree and see the world differently, but to do so critically," he said.
The program has received support from many Utah leaders, Bokovoy said, and he hopes it continues so another graduating class can experience the accomplishment of pursuing higher education.
"It's received a lot of support, politically, bipartisan support to make sure that higher education is an option for those who would like to pursue it and would qualify so that we can reduce that recidivism rate and provide a way for them to earn jobs," Bokovoy said.
Bluff agrees, saying it can transform the life of an incarcerated person.
"I think it's very important that this continues in the future," she reflected, "and that those students who come after, see that there's the possibility that they can leave a better person than they came in."
