Praxis Course: Education and Incarceration in the United States
Semester: Fall 2025
Faculty Advisor/Professor: José Vegara
Community Partner: Petey Greene Program
Praxis Poster:
10 Jana Revised
Further Context:
I interned with PGP’s College Bridge Program for my praxis on incarceration and education. As part of this Praxis, I did readings that touched on the state of the education system in the United States, how access to education varies in different communities, the U.S. carceral system, how individuals are educated when they are incarcerated, and much more.
College Bridge aims to provide high-quality education to incarcerated individuals to prepare them for higher education. Where the state has historically failed to provide meaningful access, College Bridge allows those inside to access this high-quality education, as well as an opportunity to obtain higher education that they likely would not otherwise have gotten.
Through my work at PGP, I have seen how the organization is striving for high-quality tutoring and education by finding instructors who are experts in their fields and tutors who are knowledgeable and dedicated.
My main project was researching professors at colleges near facilities where the college bridge provides programming. Through this research, I identified professors and graduate students who had focuses that made me believe they could be good fits to teach with College Bridge.
Through this research, I realized how isolated the communities surrounding prisons are, and how difficult it can be to find quality instructors who are passionate about the work that PGP is doing. My readings and my time at PGP have taught me how difficult this work can be to start, but how important it is to be able to foster genuine connections and bring education inside, where historically it has been rare to find dedicated instructors.