Rehabilitation with education
Pilot prison college program recognizes first class of graduates
Natasha Barker made eye contact with her fellow graduates.
She spoke clearly and passionately, used transitions in her speech and exuded confidence. She also couldn’t keep the smile from spreading across her face.
“When I go out there, I don’t have to sit there and look at the doors and think that they’re closed to me,” Barker said. “That is a big thing for a lot of us in here.”
In developing her commencement address, Barker applied the skills she learned in her communications 101 class taught at the Florence Mcclure Women’s Correctional Center. She’s part of the first cohort of women who graduated Wednesday morning from a pilot prison education program created in 2017.
As Barker stepped away from the podium, she was asked if the public speaking class worked.
“Yes!” she exclaimed, to a room full of applause.
The graduation ceremony marked the culmination of the program’s first year, as 22 women earned college credit and vocational training under the direction of College
GRADUATION
survivors, but we do,” said Fine. “It’s a ripple effect so deep that I don’t think anybody realizes if we don’t help all of these people, it’s going to get so much worse.”
Fine witnessed the Oct. 1 violence firsthand with Claypool, a stranger at the time who was sitting 11 seats away in the bleachers.
“We were in the stands that was the kill zone, and we watched it all happen thinking we were certain we were going to die,” Fine said. “There was nothing we could do, and we didn’t know when it was going to stop. It still actually doesn’t feel real.”
The nonprofit organizers have all been touched by gun violence in some way. Fine took video during the shooting and thought she would be next. Sherman survived multiple gunshots after driving through a crime scene in Washington, D.C. Samantha Arjune, an Oct. 1 survivor involved in Route 91 Strong, was shielded by her brother after being shot in the leg.
Doctors told Arjune she might lose her leg or be unable to walk for at least a year. But thanks to a metal plate and seven screws in her leg, Arjune is walking again. She hasn’t returned to her job running a magazine company, but she now dedicates her time to Route 91 Strong.
“We’re not going to give into the evil,” she said.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.