US prisoners receive degrees from top university
STORY: Students from Northwestern University’s Prison Education Program brim with pride as they file into an auditorium in Crest Hill, Illinois for their commencement ceremony.
These 16 men are the first class of incarcerated students to receive bachelor’s degrees from a top 10 university.
It’s a moving occasion for graduates and program faculty alike.
Some wipe away tears as they watch graduates receive their diplomas.
Among them is Michael Broadway, who spoke at the ceremony.
“So mother, this is my open apology to you, and to my family, for every time the police kicked in that door, for every time somebody shot into that home. I apologize. I know all you ever wanted from me was to be the best version of myself. So I ask you mama, how did I do?”
Broadway has been incarcerated for nearly two decades at Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill.
The 51-year-old overcame multiple setbacks to attain his degree, including battling stage four prostate cancer.
After the ceremony, Broadway was at a loss for words.
"It's a feeling I never felt before. If I feel it again, I'll be able to describe it. Give it a word. But right now, I have no words for it. It's just all the world. Coming from where I came from, the things that I've been through and to be here is indescribable."
Michael’s mother Elizabeth hasn’t been able to visit her son in prison due to illness.
This is the first time she’s seen him in almost 20 years.
"Well, I was a little shocked. I didn't think he would complete it, you know, but he did. He did. I'm just so proud of him. I really am. He looks so good in that gown, cap. He really looks good."
Broadway's scheduled release is 2084.
If he’s able to be released before then, he plans to start a nonprofit focused on youth empowerment.
Since 2018, Northwestern has partnered with Oakton College and the Illinois Department of Corrections to offer credited courses to incarcerated students.
Professor Jennifer Lackey is the program’s founding director.
"I mean, 20 years ago, some of these guys were in rival gangs, you know. And here they are swapping poetry with each other and giving, you know, critical engagements on, you know, sociology assignments. And so I think that, you know, the the love and growth that we see in the community is really unlike anything I've experienced at the on-campus commencements.”
There are currently around 100 students enrolled in NPEP across Stateville Correctional Center and Logan Correctional Center, a women’s prison in the state.
Newly-minted Northwestern graduate David Soto plans to continue his education in law school.
He hopes that this first class of incarcerated students is just the beginning.
"I'm not something special, there are many more like me. And I hope that they get the opportunity to be released as well so that we can showcase and perhaps really change the world."
