Category: News

Intern Spotlight – Kyle

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“Prison is supposed to be a rehabilitation place and isn’t, but education is,” Kyle says. Kyle, a graduating senior, has been the reentry intern with the PEP for two years. His work largely focuses on creating and expanding resources for people reentering society after being incarcerated.

Some projects Kyle has worked on include creating the reentry portion of our website which includes all sorts of resources and guides for people reentering society and creating a formalized partnership with TRIO (discussed in detail below). He hopes to leave the program with a solid framework and foundation of services as well as a network of connections around the UO campus and Eugene community that the next group of interns can work from to generate more services and opportunities for formerly incarcerated people.

While in the Lane County jail Kyle had expressed interest in educational programs to a guard, who directed him to learning opportunities there.  He earned his GED in the jail through a community college program there. Kyle felt that the “natural course of action was to go to school after getting himself together,” and after release started at Lane Community College where he earned his associates degree. After that, Kyle transferred to the University of Oregon where he began his bachelor’s degree.  He is currently studying Planning, Public Policy, and Management (PPPM) and got connected to the PEP through Dr. Nicole Ngo, a PPPM professor. Kyle had shared his prior experiences with Dr. Ngo and she sent the internship application to him.  “PPPM is a way to give back to the community that I was once a strain on.” In this program Kyle has learned how to work with the nonprofit sector in fields such as addiction and rehabilitation and housing.

Kyle recalls the experience of returning to school as “scary, intimidating, and lonely.” He was twenty-five years removed from the school system and didn’t know how (or when) to share his experiences with faculty and other students. Kyle’s work with the PEP has largely been influenced by his desire to create resources for people starting school that he did not have access to or knowledge of.

Kyle is a current participant at Sponsors. He credits his interest in nonprofit work to his time with their program. “Sponsors is a gold standard reentry program and as good as anybody in the nation,” Kyle remarks. He saw the benefits of a well run nonprofit program as both a participant and someone wanting to improve programs and wanted to work in the field. After graduating in June, Kyle plans to continue working with the nonprofit sector to increase social services in the fields such as rehabilitation and housing.

Intern Applications Open for 2024-2025 School Year

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Announcing: Prison Education Program internship applications open for our internship for the upcoming year! Applications are due April 5th by 11:59pm

The University of Oregon’s Prison Education Program is opening applications for our 2024-2025 internship.  Our interns help us with all elements of our program, providing support for classes inside the prisons, distance learning, campus events, communication, research, logistics support, etc. We are seeking students who are passionate about this kind of work, will be flexible in a changing work environment, have the emotional maturity to work in difficult spaces, work as a team but also be able to do independent projects, and are able to abide by a range of rules that make our work possible. We encourage traditional and non-traditional students and people with lived experience with the justice system to apply. You must be a current, full-time UO student graduating Spring 2025 or later (current freshmen-juniors are welcome). Experience in an Inside-Out class is highly preferred but not required. Unfortunately, Graduate students with GE appointments cannot be program interns.

Interns receive a stipend of $500 per term. Required weekly program meetings are held 8:00-9:30am either Monday or Friday.

If you are interested, please apply here. A more detailed description of the position is also in the application.

Additional questions can be sent to us at uoprisoned@uoregon.edu

Announcing: 2024 Spring Term Inside-Out classes 

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Inside-Out classes take place inside a prison, with an equal number of campus-based students and incarcerated (“inside”) students. Classes are discussion based and have had an incredibly positive impact on both the outside and inside students. Because of the drive time to Salem and the process of entering and leaving the institution, the total time involved is 4pm – 10pm one day each week. The class itself goes from 6:00-8:30.  The two spring term classes are:
  • LS 410 “Legal Studies Hard Cases: Physician Assisted Suicide” with Professor Robert Rocklin on Tuesdays at the Oregon State Penitentiary
  • HC 444/431H “Autobiography as Political Agency” with Professor Anita Chari on Mondays at the Oregon State Correctional Institution (Note: limited to Honors College students)
You can learn more about the classes here.
Applications should be completed via this link. 
Applications are due February 18th for Autobiography as Political Agency and February 19th for Legal Studies. The application process includes an interview. We anticipate significant interest, and look forward to your application.
There are optional information sessions for each class—please attend if you are interested in the specific class, or in Inside-Out classes in general.
Information Session for Legal Studies with Professor Robert Rocklin
February 13 5:30pm Room 141 in the Law School
Applications due by Feb 19
Information session for Autobiography as Political Agency with Professor Chari
Feb 14th info session, 4-5 pm in Chapman Hall
Applications due by Feb. 18

Art Show February 4th-March 8th

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Join us for our 4th annual Prison Education Program art show, Hope: A Human Right. Art from both formerly and currently incarcerated individuals in Oregon will be displayed in the Erb Memorial Union Adell McMillan Gallery on the University of Oregon campus from February 4th through March 8th. You can view work and provide feedback via a comment forum to the artist anytime the EMU is open (M-F: 7a.m.–11p.m., Sat: 8a.m.–11p.m., Sun: 10a.m.–9p.m.) over the month-long gallery. The show will conclude with a reception on Thursday, Mar 7th from 6-7pm. Please consider joining us for this special evening or visiting the gallery over the next month.

Celebration with Oxford Consortium for Human Rights

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On December 10th, the Oxford Consortium for Human Rights, a program centered on research and workshops regarding humanitarian aid, global conflict and peace building,  hosted an event on the University of Oregon Campus to recognize important work being done at UO regarding human rights. Many PEP interns and past Inside students were present, along with PEP Director, Shaul Cohen, and Program Coordinator Katie Dwyer, who is also affiliated with the Oxford program and emceed the event.  

The event began with UO President, Karl Scholtz, speaking about the significance of the Oxford Consortium for Human Rights. He also highlighted the tremendous impacts of the P.E.P. for incarcerated students, campus students, and the broader community in Oregon and beyond.  Hugo Slim, the co-founder of the Oxford Consortium specifically spoke about Shaul’s contributions to prison education and how essential he has been in making education more accessible for Inside Students. Many of the students in the Oxford Program have taken Inside-Out classes. 

Prior Inside-Out students also spoke at this event. Shawn McWeeney, a former Inside student, shared insights about how his time taking PEP courses both aided him while Inside and now, as he has re-entered society and is active in community service work. Beatrice, a former Outside student and current PEP Intern, discussed her positive experiences working with Shaul through being a PEP intern and a member of Carnegie Global Oregon Ethics Program that he also directs. Both students highlighted the importance of the PEP in their education, and its influence on them in terms of career pathways. 

Sister Helen Prejean, the author of Dead Man Walking, shared her insights about how important education is as well as the high quality and immense quantity of work that Shaul does for prison education in Oregon, and how such work should be happening everywhere. Specifically, she stated “what Shaul and others have done in prison education is crucial, crucial for the redemption of human lives, the restoration of lives, and the developing of the potential that is in every human being which education brings forward.” Furthermore, Prejean emphasized the importance of education in developing personhood. You can view a recording of Sister Henlen’s  Prejean’s contribution here. 

To finish off the evening, the Oxford Consortium gave Shaul an award acknowledging his work with Human Rights. In his honor, they have created two “Shaul Cohen Fellowships” to support future participants in Consortium programs. 

PEP at Lane County’s Garden for Good Event

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Most of the good ideas from our program have come from our inside – or formerly inside – leaders. This time the idea came from Shawn, who graduated with his BA from the UO while still inside and then went on to complete a master’s degree at the UO once he was released. He is working with us to develop more informal re-entry support efforts, and at his suggestion we invited folks to join us for a volunteer day at FOOD for Lane County’s Garden for Good on Saturday, November 25th–taking advantage of the Thanksgiving weekend to do some giving back to the community. PEP team members, formerly Inside students, and friends and family came to participate.

We spent two hours mulching the garden beds for winter, taking on mountains of leaves that will discourage weeds, protect the soil from run-off, and partially compost during the cold months. One member of our team’s step counter calculated 2.9 miles of hauling leaves in wheelbarrows during the morning’s work session.

Not only was it a chance to be part of our community in a different way, it was also a nice way to spend time together. Community is built in many different ways, and while classroom discussions are a specialty this was a nice change of pace. We plan to repeat the experience at least once a quarter, so look forward to more news from community projects in future newsletters!

ASUO Funding Increase

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The Associated Students of the University of Oregon (ASUO) allocates student funding to different programs across campus. On November 17th, it was announced that the PEP will receive a 29% increase in ASUO funding for the next year. This funding will go toward intern stipends, transportation for Inside-Out classes, and necessary office supplies. To our knowledge, the UO PEP is the only Inside-Out program in the nation that receives student funding to assist in operating costs. We are incredibly grateful and honored for this support, as it adds to our presence inside as a part of the UO campus community.

PEP Informational Session

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The PEP hosted an informational session during week 7 to share information about this rich educational opportunity. Katie Dwyer, Coordinator for the Prison Education Program, started the session by sharing information about the PEP and all that it entails. Interns Miriam and Monique then gave introductions about the upcoming courses. Miriam and Monique will be the Outside learning assistants for winter courses; in this role they assist with administrative tasks, preparing feedback for Inside students, and transportation of Outside students to the correctional institutions.

PEP participants Kyle and John, both former students, were also in attendance. Students who were considering taking an Inside-Out class were able to ask Kyle and John questions and hear about their lived experiences and their enthusiasm for Inside-Out classes. It was really special to have these two men, who were leaders with the UO while inside, are now thriving and continuing to advocate for education now that they are back in the community.

This event was a great success. We had an incredible 72 applications for 26 open spots in Winter Inside-Out courses, SOC 410 “Social Inequality” with Ellen Scott and GEOG 445 “Culture, Ethnicity, and Nationalism” with Shaul Cohen.

Inside-Out Impact – A Reflection from an Outside Student

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The following is a reflection from Bella, a past Outside student who took Inside-Out “Autobiography as Political Agency” with Professor Anita Chari.

“There are some expected highlights to an Inside-Out class; I knew I would gain a different view of the criminal justice system and some perspective on life from people with very different lived experiences than mine. I never imagined the most significant benefit the program would have in my life, teaching me how to foster meaningful connections with others. We often live in a world that is full of artificial constraints. On a college campus, everyone is often rushing onto the next thing in their busy schedule. Class is often just one more thing to check off of a to-do list, and even when you do show up prepared, oftentimes, others are stressed or tired or distracted, leading to conversation that is dull or repetitive. There are social pressures to perform but not stand out, sound intelligent and well-informed but not superfluous, and say the right things around the right people. When I was taking my Inside-Out course, none of these typical distractions or pressures were present, and I could show up fully as myself. Everyone worked hard to get into the course and was passionate about gaining the most from it.

We spent much time in every class sharing our stories. When engaging in these deep conversations with classmates, I could show up and be fully present, sharing my experiences and carefully listening to them. Many Inside students shared how they learned to survive and thrive in their environment. Most were my age when they went to prison, and instead of finding their identity on a college campus, they did it behind bars. They spoke on the importance of community, intentionality, and showing up for others. Their presence in our classroom echoed these values, and I found myself inspired by the value they gave to our class in their lives. The paths of high-achieving college students and incarcerated people often do not cross, and the mere fact we were able to share a classroom was an incredible gift. Since there were no superficial similarities in our lives, our conversations skipped “small talk” and dove deeper into our core stories and values. The connections forged from these conversations were deep and meaningful, we bonded over our shared humanity. I’ve since tried to practice bringing the elements of connection I forged with my classmates into my everyday life. I try to show up for others intentionally and be present when trying to get to know someone better or catch up with a friend. Instead of engaging on superficial topics, I ask deep questions and try to create environments free from distractions where one can be comfortable and free to be themselves. Most importantly, I am intentional to share with others the incredible connections I experienced with Inside students so that they too can see those who society views as flawed outcasts through a lens of shared humanity.”

Winter 2024 Inside Out Courses

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We will have two Inside-Out classes in Winter 2024, applications due Monday, November 13th. Submit your application via Google form here.

There is an optional informational session with the Prison Education Program coordinator and recent Inside-Out students in Room 282 in the Law School at 4pm on Wednesday, November 8th. Please come learn about the program, even if you aren’t able to take a winter term class!

Inside-Out classes take place inside a prison, with an equal number of campus-based students and incarcerated (“inside”) students. Classes are discussion based and have had an incredibly positive impact on both the outside and inside students. Because of the drive time to Salem and the process of entering and leaving the institution, the total time involved is 4pm – 10pm one day each week. The class itself goes from 6:00-8:30. Learn more about Inside-Out class offerings. The two winter term classes are:

GEOG 445 “Culture, Ethnicity, and Nationalism” with Professor Shaul Cohen on Mondays at the Oregon State Penitentiary
SOC 410 “Structural Inequality in the US: Schools, the labor market and the criminal justice system” with Professor Ellen Scott on Wednesdays at the Oregon State Correctional Institution

Many past participants have reported that these classes are some of the most interesting, engaging, and transformative they have taken.

Please email uoprisoned@uoregon.edu with any questions!