Center for Prison Education Celebrates New Graduates
Education was always important in the Soyini household, said Kunta Soyini ’25, as his mother pushed the value of school at an early age. In junior high and high school, he ran cross country and wrestled. Soyini had just started pursuing a GED when he was first arrested and incarcerated in the late 90s; he later passed the GED while in jail in Hartford County. Now, nearly 30 years later, he has earned his Bachelor of Liberal Studies (BLS) degree at Wesleyan through the Center for Prison Education (CPE).
“Being able to take courses like this, being able to educate myself and have me not just do time, but do time effectively and do something productive and be an asset, even in this space, that's important for me,” Soyini said.
He first applied to study through Wesleyan’s program at Cheshire Correctional Institution in 2017 upon a friend’s recommendation. He wanted to prove to himself that he could handle the challenging coursework. On May 27, he reached his goal as he was one of four to earn a Wesleyan bachelor’s degree—at the Center for Prison Education’s graduation ceremony at Cheshire. An additional three BLS graduates were honored at a ceremony at York Correctional Institution on May 28.
Wesleyan's is the longest-running higher education in prison program in Connecticut, in its 16th year, serving about 75 students across its sites, and a member of the Consortium for the Liberal Arts in Prison and the Womxn's Higher Education in Prison Consortium, which unites programs operating in prisons designated for women.
Soyini described his graduation as a personal milestone, one that he was excited to share with family members. “I'm still showing them the importance of continuously improving yourself, even in your setbacks,” said Soyini, who previously earned his associates degree at Middlesex in 2023. “Being able to accomplish not just one, but two degrees, while in prison, shows that no matter what your circumstances, no matter what your challenges are, you still can do more. You still can be more. It's all about choices.”
During his time in CPE, he has taken classes in philosophy, English, Japanese, government, history, and music, among other subjects. One course that he found valuable, was his GOVT333: International Organization class where he learned to research Supreme Court cases. He later used research and debate skills developed in this course to help a Cheshire-based team win a debate against debaters from Boston College.
Ceremony at Cheshire
Soyini and his fellow graduates processed into the ceremony behind the faculty who taught them at Cheshire, led by faculty marshal Sean McCann, Kenan Professor of the Humanities. The graduates were welcomed by President Michael S. Roth ’78 and heard remarks from Joshua Moon-Johnson, president at Connecticut State Community College Middlesex; Karen Hynick, provost of Connecticut State Community College; and Sharonda Carlos, commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Correction. Graduates Niraj Patel and Marquis Pettway ’26 also spoke to their classmates.
During his opening remarks, Roth congratulated the graduates, acknowledged the difficulty of their accomplishment, and praised the power of learning to think for oneself. “I have every hope that your classes have helped you find a path to having minds and hearts more thoughtful and more open,” Roth said. “More thoughtful and more open, that's what we think liberal education provides—a way of freeing the mind to explore topics, problems, possibilities that otherwise are denied us.”
During the ceremony, Pettway said his studies represented a pursuit of mental freedom, despite his confinement. He called for expanded access to higher education and liberal learning opportunities in Connecticut prisons. Pettway also received a BLS degree on May 27, alongside Soyini, John Moye ’24, and Alazaron Sargeant ’26.
“I know of the transformative power of higher education,” he said. “I've witnessed men who felt they had nothing to live for find meaning and purpose in their education. I've witnessed men, such as myself, who thought that their chance at a college education had passed them by, be invigorated with a thirst for knowledge and an unwavering focus.”
Urban revitalization strategist Majora Carter ’88, Hon.’13 delivered the Commencement address. She is a Peabody Award-winning broadcaster, MacArthur Fellow, and a green-infrastructure power broker who has been active in environmental policy advocacy. She reminded the graduates to remember the value they bring the world during her speech. “This achievement is not about escaping who you are, it's about expanding who you're becoming,” she said. “It's about recognizing that you've always had value. And now, you have a few more tools in which you fill that value.”
Graduates heard closing remarks from Roth, then crossed the stage to receive their degrees, heard a word blessing from Damian Thomas '24, and recessed out of the auditorium to the fitting tune of “This Little Light of Mine,” performed on electric keyboard by Noah Baerman, director of the Wesleyan Jazz Ensemble.
Commencement at York Correctional Institution
On May 28, at York Correctional Institution, three women made history by becoming the first women in Connecticut state prison to receive their bachelor’s degrees at a commencement ceremony. Their achievements demonstrated the power of education to transform the lives of individuals, regardless of their circumstances.
The festivities began with a procession of graduates. The Wesleyan CPE students receiving their Bachelor of Liberal Studies were Mary J. Ames ’22, Ashley Howard ’26, and Chastity West ’21. (West and Ames completed their degrees earlier but no ceremony was held during those years.)
Speakers included Teresa Foley, the Interim Associate Dean of Non-traditional Transition Programs of Connecticut State Community College; Trina Sexton, warden at York; and Commissioner Carlos followed by the graduates themselves.
During her remarks, BLS graduate Chasity West ’22, who was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa in 2022, recalled how she barely made it through high school, which initially sowed doubt in her potential to succeed in a college program like CPE. Yet she persevered. “For eight years, rain or shine, in sickness and in health, I showed up to every single class,” said West. “I listened to the lectures, to my classmates' comments and questions, to the words of authors, scholars, philosophers, and experts, and to people simply with lived experience and others who just had something to say. Soon I began to express my own thoughts and to argue my own point of view.”
Having reached her goal, West recognized the profound change in herself and in her peers. “The transformative power of education has given all of us our replies to that nagging place of uncertainty and resignation. No one's too old, too stupid, too out of touch in the world. Anyone can succeed. Anyone is smart enough. Anyone can reinvent yourself,” she said.
The Commencement address was delivered by Michelle Daniel Jones, the founding executive director of Constructing Our Future, a reentry and housing organization for previously incarcerated women, and the editor of the volume Who Would Believe a Prisoner? Indiana Women’s Carceral Institutions 1848-1920. She echoed the sentiment that the commencement ceremony had deeper meaning. “This graduation is not simply a ceremony, it is evidence,” she said. “Evidence that your intellect survived, evidence of your humanity survived, evidence that you can endure 10 long years to earn a bachelor's degree. Evidence that you can do hard things….evidence that despite every system that tried to define you by your worst moment, you chose growth anyway. Evidence that education is more than learning. It is liberation.”
She encouraged the graduates to celebrate and then take action. “…on the other side of your incarceration, get to work. Build those communities. Heal those families. Challenge injustice. Protect your peace, your peace of mind, protect it as the precious jewel that it is. Continue to love your families. Vote and encourage others to vote. Tell your stories. Stay involved in the world around you,” she said.
Following the address, six students were presented with their Associate in Science degrees from Connecticut State Middlesex. Roth and Wesleyan’s Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Nicole Stanton presented Ames, Howard, and West with their BLS degrees.
William Griffin Professor of Philosophy Lori Gruen, who teaches in the CPE program and served as marshal of the faculty for the commencement offered a word of blessing, followed by the jubilant recession. A reception in the York CI gym afterward gave graduates the rare chance to share a meal with family visitors who had traveled from across Connecticut and as far as Florida to celebrate the proud moment with their incarcerated, history-making loved ones.
Ziba Kashef contributed to this story.
