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SALT LAKE CITY — When Becky Golly was sentenced to prison, she felt like she'd lost all hope.
As a single mom working three jobs and battling a drug addiction, she didn't see a clear path forward. But that all changed in 2019 when some fellow inmates encouraged her to take a class while incarcerated at the Utah State Correctional Facility.
Now, five years later, Golly graduated Monday from Salt Lake Community College's Prison Education Program, earning an associate degree in general studies and one in criminal justice.
"The skills, certificates and degrees I've received over the last six years have changed my future in ways I could never have dreamed. It also positively affects my children's lives," Golly said. "I'm keeping the promise I made (to my children) when I got to prison. I told them that I cannot change what got me here, but I would change and fix all the unhealthy parts of myself and come home as the mom they always deserved to have."
Golly was one of 31 students who graduated from the program on Monday with associate degrees — most in general studies.
The program, launched in 2017 and supported by an appropriation from the Utah Legislature, is growing rapidly with nearly 300 students taking advantage of community college classes offered at the prison — good for nearly 10% of the facility's population.
In 2020, the U.S. Department of Education designated SLCC as a Second Chance Pell experimental site, allowing incarcerated students to use federal Pell Grants — which is essentially free money for college — to attend.
The program "has created change in our minds, in how we think, act and feel in our hearts," said Bradley Freeze, who graduated with an associate degree in general studies.
For the spring semester, SLCC offered 40 classes for pathways leading to nine different associate degrees: anthropology, business, criminal justice, English, general studies, history, humanities, paralegal studies, philosophy and religious studies.
The classes are taught by a group of over 40 SLCC faculty members, many of whom also teach on SLCC's campuses.
"Providing education in the prison makes so much sense on both a practical level and a human level. It transforms individuals' sense of self, promotes hope and ability and this ultimately benefits society," David Bokovoy, director of SLCC's Prison Education Program, said in a statement.
Bokovoy pointed out an Emory University study that found recidivism — the tendency for a convicted criminal to reoffend — dropped by 84% for those earning an associate degree.
"In short, college students are less likely to return to prison," Bokovoy said, adding that studies have also shown, for every dollar spent on prison education, it saves taxpayers at least $4 in reincarceration costs.
While Davis Technical College has been offering technical education courses at the Utah State Correctional Facility since 2010, SLCC is currently the only school at the facility offering an associate degree.
