Missouri State University-West Plains recently celebrated its first graduates through the federal Second Chance Pell Grant Program.
Established in 2015 by the U.S. Department of Education, the Second Chance Pell Grant Program provides federal Pell Grant funding to eligible incarcerated individuals who are nearing release so they can pursue postsecondary degrees and certificates through prison education programs.
MSU-WP applied to become part of the program in 2019 and was approved to offer degrees through prison education programs in early 2020. Because of the pandemic, however, university officials were unable to offer its first classes until spring 2022 due to COVID restrictions, university officials said.
Currently, MSU-WP offers two degrees — the Associate of Applied Science (AAS) in Agriculture and the Associate of Applied Science in Culinary and Hospitality Management — through the program, and one or both degrees are available at five different correctional facilities in Missouri.
Seven participants at the Chillicothe Correctional Center recently graduated with the AAS in Agriculture during a special commencement ceremony Dec. 21. They included Jewell Bewley, Kayla Kenoyer, Kelly Butler, Heather Cummings, Christina White, Bobbie Geveshausen and Destiny Fetzer.
MSU-WP administration, faculty and staff attended the ceremony, along with administrators from the Missouri Department of Corrections and the Chillicothe Correctional Center.
“Being able to award these women their degrees was truly one of the most satisfying things I’ve done in a while,” MSU-WP Chancellor Dennis Lancaster said. “They, their families and the center’s staff were obviously moved by what all of them had been able to accomplish. Their lives will forever be changed by this single step toward a better future. A ceremony like that, simple as it was, reminded all of us from the university about why we do what we do.”
Through the Second Chance Pell Program, federal officials hoped that incarcerated individuals would not only pursue an education but also develop skills needed to find a job and reduce their chances of reoffending once released. A RAND Corporation study shows that is happening: Prisoners who participated in educational programs were 43% less likely to return to prison and 13% more likely to find employment after release.
With their new degrees, the Chillicothe graduates will be able to seek employment in a number of agriculture-related positions when they’re released, university officials said.
“These first graduates are a testament to hard work and dedication,” MSU-WP Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs Michael Orf said. “We are proud of the determination they have demonstrated in finishing their degree.”
