Multiple students from Eastern Michigan University’s College in Prison program presented at EMU’s 45th annual Undergraduate Symposium on March 28, 2025.
The CiP program allows individuals incarcerated at Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility to earn a bachelor’s degree through EMU. The program started in 2023. CiP programs have been shown to reduce the likelihood that an individual will return to prison after being released.
Angela Fisher, Quiana Lovett, Cara Moore, & Morgan Rowley gave presentations drawing on the rules they had learned in their improvisation class.
“I decided to participate in this year's Undergraduate Symposium for a multitude of reasons," Fisher said. "[The] experience, sharing a part of me with society who deems me unredeemable and moving outside of my confinement. This experience allowed my body and mind liberties I hope one day to have."
Her presentation drew parallels between the rules of improvisation and yoga.
“I wholeheartedly believe in the rule: Always bring a brick, not a cathedral," Lovett said. "That statement rings so true in my life. I wanted to share my experience on what it means to start small, using … trials and tribulations that we face as stepping stones to overcome the traumas we face in our lives."
Lovett's presentation discussed the importance of taking small steps and reframing limits as possibilities.
Jeneva Schaub, Mercedes Kemp, Amber Martens, Ashleigh Smith, Lorie Stuer, and Brandi Wentworth presented pieces of writing they had written in their creative writing class.
“I participated in the Undergraduate Symposium to show that even though we are incarcerated, we are just like everyone else," Martens said. "I made one mistake. It isn’t the sum or total of who I was or who I am."
She presented an erasure poem of her court transcript.
“It was a great way to make sure we are being given an equitable educational experience with the on-campus students,” Smith said.
Her creative writing class was her first time writing poetry.
Shirikiana Draper, Megan Green, and Nicole Ortiz-Garcia presented research projects they had worked on in their Schools for a Diverse and Democratic Society class. Their projects included identifying a problem with the current school system and a potential solution.
Ortiz-Garcia previously participated in the CiP program and is now a student on EMU’s main campus.
Her presentation discussed how the American school system perpetuates disparities in graduation rates between different racial groups and introduced trauma-informed care in schools as a potential solution.
“I think what made me so interested in [this project] is how it affected me as a student when I was younger," Ortiz-Garcia said. "Being able to introduce a solution that I’m actually very passionate about … it just clicked. It was like, this is what I want to do.”
Ortiz-Garcia said the CiP program has positively impacted her life and improved her self-confidence.
“[I] never thought I’d go to college, barely got my GED…so the CiP program opened up this whole new world and it’s exciting, and it’s great because I can see that I can do it now,” Ortiz-Garcia said.
Meghan Lechner, the Director of the CiP Program, believes that the biggest challenge faced by the program is a lack of access to technology. Students are currently not able to use computers for classwork.
Lechner also discussed the benefits of the CiP program.
“We hear from the prison itself that the women in our program are just happier," Lechner said. "They’re more engaged in the prison community.”
Christine Hume, an EMU professor, said the CiP program has changed the way she teaches.
“I try to be more aware of individual students' needs and … enable students to learn in an environment where they feel safe,” Hume said.
