Project Rebound: Incarceration to Graduation with Danica Bravo

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California is well known for many things, a booming agriculture industry, Silicon Valley dreams, Hollywood stars, golden sunsets, and mass incarceration.
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The last item on that list might be a surprise for some, but nearly 100,000 Californians are currently behind bars.
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That's second most in the country, right behind Texas.
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And for many of these Californians, their future after release looks bleak.
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Now imagine a world where soon to be released inmates have a brighter future ahead of them, where second chances are abundant, personal support is readily available, and barriers to education and self improvement are removed.
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I'm Frankie Tovar, your host for this episode of the Stan State Educast.
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And today we're focusing on a program that's made that world a reality.
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Project rebound.
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Born out of the vision of Doctor John Irwin, project Rebound was established at San Francisco State University in 1967 to help matriculate formerly incarcerated individuals into the CSU system.
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57 years later, and Project rebound is now established on 14 CSU campuses, including Stan State.
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The program has proven to be wildly successful.
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In the past ten years, project rebound students have earned an overall 3.0 GPa and have a 0% recidivism rate.
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Compare those numbers to the recidivism rate of 42% for all of California, and the program's efficacy becomes clear.
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But how was Project rebound established here at San State, and how exactly is it helping former inmates integrate into academia?
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Well, today's guest has all those answers and more.
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Her name is Danika Bravo, program coordinator of Stan State's Project Rebound.
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So we'll get right down to it.
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What is the mission statement or main goal of Project Rebound?
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The main goal for Project Rebound is to truly provide a community for our students.
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They have faced a lot of traumas and barriers in their lives.
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So the one thing that we want them to have is an easy transition to the university and have the support and services they need to be successful in their academic pursuit.
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And how do you go about doing that?
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What are some of the support systems resource services you provide to these students?
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Gosh, there's so many things that we do provide for them.
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If we were to reflect, start right at the beginning.
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That admissions application can take three to 4 hours.
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As a transfer student, you're literally entering every single class you've ever taken into this application.
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The application is just overwhelming in general.
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So providing that support at the very beginning and then navigating, like the process, like new student orientation and how to register for classes and showing them where their classes are, if they choose online, because maybe they're a full time worker.
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Showing them where to access their classes online so that support there as far as services, I mean, we do receive a grant through the state of California, and we're able to provide additional support for them, providing them with a participation grant, and that can help them with textbooks and whatever personal bills that they have.
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So it's really like a wraparound service that we provide for them.
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Yeah.
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Sounds like a lot of work.
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Yeah, it's a lot of work.
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I would say per student's like at least ten to 20 hours at the very beginning with each student that we enroll of services of one on one time.
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I would imagine it takes a village to do this.
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Right.
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So what are some of the campus entities you collaborate with here at Stan State?
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Yeah.
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So it does take a village.
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I would say, working with admissions at the very beginning, they're such a big help because sometimes there's various holds on their account or, you know, the transcripts are sent in, and then we need them to search for them to clear the student's account, the student portal account.
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Once the student starts, we always promote caps, which is the psychological counseling department.
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And it's important because sometimes, you know, these individuals have never thought about counseling.
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I think in general, a lot of people just don't think that they need therapy or counseling.
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But I always tell them at the beginning, we have this service.
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It's embedded with the tuition, it's available to you.
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You don't have to come out straight out of pocket to pay like a copay or something.
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And I encourage them to schedule an appointment.
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I say, even if you think you don't need it, I guarantee some things will come up, and then you can start a new healing process.
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Also, a lot of our students struggle financially.
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We have the emergency grant, and that is helpful to any student.
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But students that come right out of incarceration, that have families that starting from nothing, and they can actually use that service.
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So, yeah, we do partner up with a lot of different departments, and I want to add one more, too.
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For the students that are already, like, enrolled or starting enrollment or getting close to graduation, having that connection with academic advising is crucial.
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So that way they know what classes are taking, they're not taking the wrong classes or anything like that.
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Yeah.
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And just listening to you talk about the program, it's obviously very passionate about project rebound.
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What drew you to the program?
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I would say my lived experience.
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I was raised in Stockton on the specifically the south side of Stockton.
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The south side of Stockton is known for drug and gang affiliation.
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And although my mom did her very best to keep us away from that.
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Once we hit middle and high school, you know, it was very challenging not to associate with people like that.
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I would say the one thing that connected, I'm going to speak for myself, that connected me to folks like that is the shared experiences and situations from home.
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You know, there were underprivileged single parent households.
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There was incarceration, just a lot of barriers, and we could connect, and it was very hard to connect with people who didn't have that.
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Even though we were in that neighborhood, there were still a lot of students that had their parents married and together and had that support.
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And even if you grow up in a.
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In poverty, if you still have your two parents, that right there, it's like a strong household, right?
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You have your two parents to rely on.
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But a lot of the friends that I had at that time did not.
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And it was all single parent, single parent household.
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And so right there, there's that commonality that we shared.
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And then, so once we became teenagers, my siblings and I, my older brother went to prison at the age of 17.
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He's three years old.
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He was three years older than me, and then my younger brother was a year younger than me, and he went to juvenile hall.
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And so they spent a significant time incarcerated.
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And back then, and this is the nineties, there was, like, no resources out there at all.
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And so as I got older and they're still both serving time, I'm thinking to myself, like, I have to do something.
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I have to do something.
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And that's kind of how this came about.
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And I could share more later.
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Yeah, yeah, share some more right now, actually.
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What were some of the things you did for them?
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Growing up, well, they both had kids at a young age.
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They both have.
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My older brother has four kids.
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My younger brother has three kids.
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So one of the things was fulfilling the gap.
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I didn't want them to fill what I felt losing my father at a young age.
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I wanted to kind of fulfill that role.
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So providing them a lot of support, their children, school clothes.
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We helped.
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My mom and I helped pay for their school clothes every single year.
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You know, their birthdays, getting them with.
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I purchased all their first bikes, their first scooters, just like when they were little.
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I just didn't want them to be without.
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And even though me, I was only doing what I thought was best at that time, I didn't know anything else.
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I was thinking buying them things could help and fulfill that emptiness that they were having.
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In addition to that, just sending money to my siblings and also purchasing their packages.
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That's also really, really expensive.
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And then visits.
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So those were the only.
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And letters and pictures.
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Those are the only ways that I knew how to support.
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And again, I wish there were more resources back then.
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It's completely different now.
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There's so many community organizations that support the formerly incarcerated population have lots of different resources out there now.
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And so did that put you on your path that you're on now immediately, or did it take some time for you to figure out that's what you wanted to do with your life?
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Yeah, it definitely took some time.
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At certain points of my life, I was kind of just coping, hanging in there, like, just doing the best I can, working a lot.
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And I just felt like education for me wasn't available because when I did try it out, I failed my first semester out of high school, and I just thought, I'm just gonna focus on work.
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It was just hard to navigate.
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Cause, you know, to be honest, it's not the process that isn't the easiest in a community college, a university, wherever you go.
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It's just so much to do and learn.
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And because that was foreign to me, I didn't have a mentor or support system that can kind of walk me through the process.
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So it wasn't until later in life when I had my son, and I was determined to give him a better life.
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And I just said, I'm going to college, and I am going to find out every little thing I can about college.
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So I also thought to myself, the best way that can learn the ins and outs of college is to find a job on campus.
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And so I overall have been working in higher education for 14 years now.
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And I did start at a lower level position, which I actually am very thankful I did, because that's why I know so much about transcripts, about the admissions process, because of I was that person behind the scenes, like, processing these applications, the paperwork transcripts, like, I processed admissions applications at Delta College when I worked there, and also transcripts and then various petitions as well.
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So, you know, I worked in a lot of different departments and then ended up growing from there.
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And then in 2018, I, excuse me, 2014, I decided to pursue college, and I worked at Delta College.
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I thought to myself, you know what?
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I'm going to go into the counselor's office, and I'm going to tell them.
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They need to tell me everything I need to know.
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Like, I cannot walk out of here without knowing the details.
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Like, I need to know what I'm doing.
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And so I graduated with my associate degree from Delta actually had multiple, and I did that in 2015.
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And then in 2018, I graduated with my bachelor's here at Stan State with social science, and then my master's in counseling with the professional clinical counseling in 2023.
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Yeah.
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So that's kind of what molded me into where I'm at today.
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Quite the journey it has been.
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So you graduated with your bachelor's in 2018, and by 2019, you're named program coordinator of Project Rebound.
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What did that feel like when you were named program coordinator?
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Well, I'll back up a little bit.
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So when I was working at Delta College in 2015, I was really determined to figure out how I was going to support my brothers.
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I wanted to get them out.
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I wanted to provide services, but not only for them, but for the community, mind you, because I grew up with a lot of people who are either no longer here or they're incarcerated.
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So I just was on a mission to create something that can support them.
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So I remember sitting at my desk at Delta College in 2015 thinking, why not create a program for those who are formerly incarcerated on campus?
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And I was just sitting there, and it just came to mind.
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And then, so I started doing research.
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So I compiled a report, and I requested a meeting with my boss, and I presented it to her, and she loved it.
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And she said, let's move forward.
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I don't know how we can do this, but let's do it.
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And so as they started moving forward with the process, they identified key people on the campus that they wanted to be a part of that.
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And then I was also included.
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I did come up with the idea.
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And then in 2016, the community college chancellor's office put throughout, like, an initiative to support community colleges.
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So there wasn't funding there quite yet, but a lot of community colleges started getting on board with that.
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And at the time, I was told that there was no funding for it, so I still had to fulfill my role, and that if I wanted to do anything like this, it'd kind of be on my free time.
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I was a little disappointed because at that point, it already had been a year and a half, and at that point, I already had serviced over 100 current students on campus that were formerly incarcerated, in addition to my full time job.
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It was a lot of work work.
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And so I was sharing this with a friend, and I was sharing my frustrations with a friend.
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And two days later, she sent me an email saying, hey, there's a project rebound coordinator position at Stan State.
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And everything you're doing is, like, in the job description, you have to apply for this.
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And I thought, oh, my gosh, like, what an amazing opportunity.
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This is what I've been asking for.
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Like, I'm over here being, like, not promised.
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Like, hey, we don't know when we're gonna get funding.
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So I applied.
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I knew that I was going to be going up against people that had master's or doctorate degrees at that time, and I only had a bachelor's degree.
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So I had always been private about my life and my situation.
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Not very many people in my work environment, my peers, my colleagues, didn't even know that I had siblings, let alone siblings that were still currently incarcerated.
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So I knew in this interview that I had to be transparent, and I knew that I had to stand out differently from everyone else.
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And so one of the things that I did say in my interview and that I shared in my interview was that you're sitting in front of someone who has been brought up from nothing, and here I am sitting in front of you with a bachelor's degree.
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But I also have lived experience, and I do plan on getting a master's.
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I do plan on getting a doctorate.
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However, I'm not there yet.
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So I hope that when you make your decision, it is not based on who has the highest level of degree.
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You have to account for lived experience as well, because if you hire someone in here that does not know the demographic, they don't understand the demographic, then you might have some major challenges.
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I can tell you someone, and this is what I told them.
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I said, someone could walk in here with a suit, and you guys would never know that they were incarcerated before, but I would know.
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I would know by just the way they walk, the way they hold themselves just by looking at them, because I have been around it my entire life, and so I think those things help sharing that.
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And I said, you know, I'm sitting in front of him.
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I have no siblings out right now.
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They're all incarcerated.
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And I know what that's like.
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And I've been through it all these years.
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You know, I've been visiting prisons since I was 15 years old, consistently.
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Not like, oh, you're here, you're there.
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No, we're, like, really supportive.
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I mean, sometimes it was every week that we were spending our weekends there, our holidays there.
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I felt confident in the interview.
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I was excited for the opportunity.
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I had been waiting for the opportunity to open up to me, and it's been a huge blessing.
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July will be five years.
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Five years.
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Wow, that's a long time, it seems like, huh?
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Yeah.
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Or did it fly by for you?
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Yes and no.
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Yes and no.
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There's been a lot going on within that five years.
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Okay, well, let's go back to the beginning.
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Your first year, when you first started here at Stan State as the program coordinator, how many students did you have in the program?
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Yeah.
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So within the first couple months, I had to do a lot of inreach.
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Right.
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Also outreach, but a lot of inreach.
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And I was able to find.
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Within the first four months, I would say I found three students.
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And then once we had three students, I was able to hire two of them as a student assistant to provide that extra support.
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In terms of, can you walk this student over here, show them where that's at?
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Or, you know, would you like to come and do a presentation with me just to, you know, start doing that in reach and outreach and having them being able to have a voice as well and share their story?
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And then after that COVID hit, it was so quick because we were just, like, laying out that foundation, you know?
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But the oddest thing is that even during COVID we were flourishing.
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It was a lot of work on Zoom.
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It was a lot of work to even get someone to get on Zoom because they didn't know how to get on Zoom.
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They're just fresh out of the prison.
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They didn't know what to do.
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So it's like, okay, do you see a blue link here?
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Look towards your right.
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Like, I can't see what they're seeing.
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We're on the phone, and it's like, a lot of, like, keep looking.
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Keep looking onto the right, you know?
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And then finally they were able to obviously get jump on a zoom, and then I'm like, okay, you know, share.
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Like, give me access, or I'll give them access.
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I could take over, you know, and then show them and help them.
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It's been a journey.
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It's been a journey.
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Okay, now, year five, how many students are in the program now?
00:18:08.614 --> 00:18:09.261
Oh, my gosh.
00:18:09.317 --> 00:18:17.430
So right now we have 56 students that are in class registered this semester.
00:18:17.582 --> 00:18:22.069
However, altogether matriculated, we have 76.
00:18:22.221 --> 00:18:23.470
So we have an.
00:18:23.541 --> 00:18:27.846
And I'm glad you brought that up, because we have about 30 students on a break.
00:18:28.029 --> 00:18:32.465
And, you know, each student, it's not just, oh, I just need a break.
00:18:32.529 --> 00:18:33.250
Cause it's.
00:18:33.362 --> 00:18:33.938
I'm busy.
00:18:33.986 --> 00:18:37.617
No, it's like, look, I just had my third baby.
00:18:37.705 --> 00:18:39.778
I lost my mom.
00:18:39.905 --> 00:18:42.281
Major life events that.
00:18:42.337 --> 00:18:43.794
It's like, yeah, no, I get it.
00:18:43.834 --> 00:18:45.178
Like, I support you.
00:18:45.306 --> 00:18:47.730
Let me know how I can help you when you're ready to come back.
00:18:47.842 --> 00:18:57.602
But when I say matriculated, because that was part of that ten to 20 hours process where you sit down with them and work on an admissions application.
00:18:57.657 --> 00:19:06.417
You get them through NSO, you get them to show up, you get them to like, we have to register and I have to do all these forms to get their fee paid.
00:19:06.506 --> 00:19:13.233
And at that time, and it was just a lot of work in general, getting any holds on their account removed.
00:19:13.394 --> 00:19:14.433
It's a lot of work.
00:19:14.473 --> 00:19:19.178
So yes, I do say we have 76 students in the program when people ask.
00:19:19.266 --> 00:19:25.321
But as of right now, we have 56 that are actually registered, which is, I mean, a huge number.
00:19:25.458 --> 00:19:38.440
And also, I want to say this, our numbers match one of the bigger cities out in LA, okay, where there's like, I mean, triple probably the population, right?
00:19:38.511 --> 00:19:44.592
And I mean, I was questioned at a conference in Atlanta, Georgia in November.
00:19:44.768 --> 00:19:46.832
How in the heck do you have 56 students?
00:19:46.887 --> 00:19:49.559
That's what I have, 50, you know, in my program.
00:19:49.632 --> 00:19:55.099
And I'm like, and it's another project rebound program, like, I know, and we're considered a commuter campus.
00:19:55.231 --> 00:19:57.771
So, yeah, I'm very proud of that, that number.
00:19:57.907 --> 00:20:02.268
I'm proud because it has been a lot of work and it doesn't, I'm going to also say this.
00:20:02.316 --> 00:20:06.059
It's not, these are not things that I can get done in a 40 hours week.
00:20:06.092 --> 00:20:13.667
I spend a lot of time in the evenings and my students can attest to this on the weekends, you know, just providing that extra support for them.
00:20:13.715 --> 00:20:18.875
If I don't, it's just going to linger over to the following week and then the following week and it's like, you know what?
00:20:18.940 --> 00:20:20.195
And then also they're in distress.
00:20:20.259 --> 00:20:24.864
So why would I like, you know, if I could just jump on a quick call or quick zoom and address the issue. Um, but yeah.
00:20:25.163 --> 00:20:30.278
I would imagine seeing these students graduate makes all that extra work worth it.
00:20:30.365 --> 00:20:30.894
You know what?
00:20:30.933 --> 00:20:33.294
Yeah, last, I would say last May.
00:20:33.334 --> 00:20:37.213
I graduated last May, but it was still about them.
00:20:37.253 --> 00:20:39.501
I showed up to all of their graduations.
00:20:39.597 --> 00:20:40.574
I was there.
00:20:40.693 --> 00:20:46.246
I took photos, I took videos of them, created this really cool reel on Instagram for them.
00:20:46.349 --> 00:20:48.365
And they all really loved it too.
00:20:48.390 --> 00:20:49.326
They're like, that was so cool.
00:20:49.349 --> 00:20:50.645
I'm like, yeah, that took me hours.
00:20:50.710 --> 00:20:52.134
I'm just not a pro at those things.
00:20:52.173 --> 00:20:54.334
But it took me hours to make.
00:20:54.413 --> 00:20:59.423
It was so exciting to see that especially we had so many graduates.
00:20:59.763 --> 00:21:11.104
Gosh, I'm going blank now, but I think there was over ten graduates in May, and this may will be our biggest one, I think we have over, like 16.
00:21:11.564 --> 00:21:13.023
It's very exciting.
00:21:13.403 --> 00:21:17.483
It's emotional, too, at the same time and very rewarding.
00:21:17.523 --> 00:21:19.211
It's like, yes, finally.
00:21:19.347 --> 00:21:25.483
But in the program now, I believe we have, as of today, not including May.
00:21:25.564 --> 00:21:29.612
Right, coming may, we have, I think, 19 graduates total.
00:21:29.667 --> 00:21:34.596
So this is going to bump our number up, I think, to over 30, which is amazing.
00:21:34.700 --> 00:21:35.844
It's truly amazing.
00:21:35.963 --> 00:21:40.963
Are there any specific stories, individual success stories that you want to share?
00:21:41.084 --> 00:21:44.539
One that comes to mind is my student, Henry Romero.
00:21:44.652 --> 00:21:54.289
Former student, because he's not a student anymore, but he graduated in May of 2023, and I found out that.
00:21:54.442 --> 00:21:55.170
Think about this.
00:21:55.201 --> 00:21:59.153
So in 2023, I received an email from Delta College.
00:21:59.314 --> 00:22:05.506
Do you have any graduates that would be good to help develop the formerly incarcerated program here?
00:22:05.529 --> 00:22:12.713
So think about when I mentioned I was trying to do this in 2015, 16, 17, even during 18.
00:22:12.794 --> 00:22:14.634
So I'm still doing all this work.
00:22:14.794 --> 00:22:15.650
Okay.
00:22:15.801 --> 00:22:20.743
And they're barely getting, like, funding to really, truly support the initiative.
00:22:20.824 --> 00:22:21.208
Right.
00:22:21.296 --> 00:22:23.183
To have a point person for that.
00:22:23.263 --> 00:22:31.231
So 2022, I receive an email asking if I have a student that has graduated that would be interested in this.
00:22:31.367 --> 00:22:32.519
And I forwarded it to Henry.
00:22:32.551 --> 00:22:33.839
I'm like, you better reply.
00:22:33.912 --> 00:22:34.880
You better.
00:22:35.071 --> 00:22:37.231
And I didn't get a response from him.
00:22:37.367 --> 00:22:40.624
Like, two days passed, and I was like, uh, uh, I'm gonna call him up.
00:22:40.663 --> 00:22:41.488
I'm calling him up.
00:22:41.536 --> 00:22:42.296
I'm calling him up.
00:22:42.319 --> 00:22:47.324
So I called him up and he answered, and I was like, why haven't you responded to my email?
00:22:47.663 --> 00:22:49.751
And he's like, I don't know.
00:22:49.928 --> 00:22:52.023
Like, you know, I don't know if he was feeling discouraged.
00:22:52.064 --> 00:22:56.127
I'm not sure, but I was like, no, no, you don't understand.
00:22:56.215 --> 00:22:59.352
This is a great opportunity and kind of, like, nagged at him.
00:22:59.407 --> 00:23:00.544
Like, you gotta apply.
00:23:00.624 --> 00:23:02.983
And so he applied and he got the job.
00:23:03.023 --> 00:23:04.920
He's doing amazing.
00:23:04.991 --> 00:23:12.415
Like, I was just sharing with him last week, we were talking for, like, over an hour, and I was like, I am so beyond proud of you.
00:23:12.440 --> 00:23:16.365
Like, you literally can build a program from scratch.
00:23:16.430 --> 00:23:17.422
Like, you did that.
00:23:17.478 --> 00:23:18.653
There was no flyers.
00:23:18.733 --> 00:23:21.390
There's no, like, information on the website.
00:23:21.501 --> 00:23:25.678
There's, like, you did all of that, you know, Instagram, like, everything.
00:23:25.766 --> 00:23:32.470
He's just this point person providing the services, and he's just doing an amazing job, and I'm really proud of him.
00:23:32.501 --> 00:23:33.990
And that is one person that will.
00:23:34.021 --> 00:23:36.165
Always brag about absolutely anybody else.
00:23:36.190 --> 00:23:38.438
I mean, it sounds like you have a lot of students that have come through your doors.
00:23:38.486 --> 00:23:39.465
Yeah, definitely.
00:23:39.589 --> 00:23:42.114
So there is another student that I'm really proud of.
00:23:42.233 --> 00:23:43.574
Richard Stokel.
00:23:43.874 --> 00:23:48.193
Richard, you know, we started our relationship while he was still incarcerated.
00:23:48.233 --> 00:23:52.218
So one thing we haven't talked about, you and I, is the mail that I receive.
00:23:52.266 --> 00:23:55.258
I receive a ton of mail on a daily basis.
00:23:55.346 --> 00:23:58.865
And Richard started writing in, gosh, a couple years ago.
00:23:59.049 --> 00:24:05.513
And so I know we corresponded, I would say probably for about maybe a year and a half, maybe two years.
00:24:05.673 --> 00:24:09.440
I did apply for him on his behalf.
00:24:09.471 --> 00:24:15.880
So it was a lot of transcript evaluation, and we had to work together collectively, you know, hey, here's what I need.
00:24:15.912 --> 00:24:18.519
I need all your information, but I also need your transcripts.
00:24:18.551 --> 00:24:19.039
I need this.
00:24:19.071 --> 00:24:19.799
I need that.
00:24:19.912 --> 00:24:21.599
So he followed through on his end, too.
00:24:21.632 --> 00:24:23.327
So he put the work in on his end.
00:24:23.415 --> 00:24:26.784
He was able to get admitted before he even was released.
00:24:26.903 --> 00:24:36.000
So he has this admissions letter while he was incarcerated, which I have quite a few students that has experienced that, that are now in part of the program.
00:24:36.112 --> 00:24:40.923
But now he works full time for a nonprofit organization.
00:24:41.703 --> 00:24:45.511
So he does a lot of community work, and he works full time.
00:24:45.567 --> 00:24:47.183
So he's still trying to navigate school.
00:24:47.223 --> 00:24:48.599
He's, like, so close to graduating.
00:24:48.632 --> 00:24:56.632
I think he has, like, one semester left, and he has a daughter, and, like, she's, I think, maybe gonna be a year old or just turned a year old.
00:24:56.768 --> 00:25:00.031
And it's just like he has so much going on, but he's still pushing.
00:25:00.167 --> 00:25:08.112
You know, I recently seen Instagram post from him literally doing what I'm doing right now, doing a podcast.
00:25:08.167 --> 00:25:09.559
So he was a guest speaker on a podcast.
00:25:09.592 --> 00:25:12.152
I was like, oh, my God, I'm so proud of him.
00:25:12.288 --> 00:25:14.175
He was recently asked to go.
00:25:14.279 --> 00:25:21.880
I think he said it was Jay Lennon or out in LA, had asked him to come share his story, and everything was fully paid for.
00:25:21.951 --> 00:25:24.160
And I was just like, wow, awesome.
00:25:24.271 --> 00:25:26.079
I'm so proud of him and excited for him.
00:25:26.112 --> 00:25:28.599
But, yeah, there are so many success stories.
00:25:28.672 --> 00:25:30.208
There's so many success stories.
00:25:30.256 --> 00:25:32.928
But those are the two that I want to highlight and share.
00:25:33.056 --> 00:25:33.336
Yeah.
00:25:33.359 --> 00:25:36.064
In addition to the podcast, I also produce videos on campus.
00:25:36.104 --> 00:25:40.248
And we actually spoke with Richard for part of a video series of Project Rebound.
00:25:40.336 --> 00:25:41.145
Absolutely.
00:25:41.279 --> 00:25:43.286
A lot of his story, and he had a great story.
00:25:43.430 --> 00:25:51.925
So anybody out there listening, if you're interested, I would encourage you to go to the Stanislaw State YouTube channel and type in project rebound and, you know, check out those videos.
00:25:51.990 --> 00:25:52.958
Yeah, definitely.
00:25:53.046 --> 00:25:54.253
And your story's there as well, right?
00:25:54.294 --> 00:25:54.981
Yes, it is.
00:25:55.077 --> 00:25:55.589
Yes, it is.
00:25:55.622 --> 00:25:57.309
So you can see the face to the voice right now.
00:25:57.382 --> 00:25:58.513
Oh, absolutely.
00:25:59.054 --> 00:26:08.632
Now when Richard or anybody else who enters the program when they come from prison and they try to enter academia, what are some of the roadblocks they encounter?
00:26:08.758 --> 00:26:10.259
Yeah, there's so many roadblocks.
00:26:10.332 --> 00:26:14.859
I'm going to emphasize again, just navigating everything they cannot.
00:26:14.971 --> 00:26:16.140
Like, it's just too much.
00:26:16.172 --> 00:26:22.852
Even a regular student out of high school that was born into technology, it is just too much to navigate that.
00:26:22.907 --> 00:26:26.932
But also, I get a lot of folks writing in about housing.
00:26:27.028 --> 00:26:29.824
You know, they're wanting to relocate to this area.
00:26:30.124 --> 00:26:30.460
Just.
00:26:30.491 --> 00:26:32.612
It's just more of a relaxed area.
00:26:32.708 --> 00:26:35.276
They want to get away from where their crime was committed.
00:26:35.299 --> 00:26:36.102
They want to start.
00:26:36.228 --> 00:26:38.145
They want to give back to the community.
00:26:38.329 --> 00:26:40.054
They want to be successful.
00:26:40.554 --> 00:26:45.529
So the housing piece is a barrier financially.
00:26:45.642 --> 00:26:46.970
Like, finding a job.
00:26:47.162 --> 00:26:49.986
Like, it is not easy to find a job with a record.
00:26:50.089 --> 00:26:51.713
So that's also a barrier.
00:26:51.874 --> 00:26:53.874
And just getting support.
00:26:54.034 --> 00:26:57.329
Like, if they're relocating, they don't know anybody here.
00:26:57.521 --> 00:27:01.153
Just getting the support that they need, and we become their family.
00:27:01.273 --> 00:27:02.442
We are their family.
00:27:02.617 --> 00:27:11.809
And so usually when people get out, like they're fresh out, I'll kind of call a couple folks, hey, I have a new guy coming.
00:27:11.961 --> 00:27:13.465
He's going to be here around this time.
00:27:13.529 --> 00:27:14.874
We're going to do his admissions application.
00:27:14.913 --> 00:27:15.913
Can you guys be in the office?
00:27:15.993 --> 00:27:21.961
So that way they can have a warm welcome and they feel comfortable and they can chat for a bit.
00:27:22.057 --> 00:27:30.114
So we all kind of sit in our student lounge, and we just chat for a little while and to make them feel more comfortable.
00:27:30.193 --> 00:27:31.769
And then we get to business.
00:27:31.922 --> 00:27:37.023
And you shared a little bit about the services to get them started here at Stan State.
00:27:37.153 --> 00:27:42.236
What about programs and initiatives within project rebound when there are already established students?
00:27:42.339 --> 00:27:43.508
Oh, gosh, yeah, there's.
00:27:43.596 --> 00:27:45.596
There's a lot of different things that we do.
00:27:45.700 --> 00:27:50.428
This week, I've been working on providing a professional development workshop.
00:27:50.556 --> 00:28:09.423
So I have two workshops that are gonna be held in April, and we have a business owner that is willing to kind of facilitate and present his successes in running this million dollar business that he created from scratch.
00:28:09.923 --> 00:28:18.387
One of the things that drew this gentleman to project rebound was that he actually hires formerly incarcerated for his business.
00:28:18.435 --> 00:28:21.304
So he reached out and said, hey, is there an opportunity to mentor?
00:28:21.683 --> 00:28:23.971
And I'm like, hmm, let's actually meet up.
00:28:24.067 --> 00:28:27.291
You know, right away, my mind's thinking elsewhere.
00:28:27.428 --> 00:28:34.476
So we learned a little bit more about each other, and then finally I just asked him, I said, my idea is a little bit different.
00:28:34.619 --> 00:28:36.723
What if we create a workshop for them?
00:28:36.884 --> 00:28:38.703
You interview folks.
00:28:39.163 --> 00:28:40.804
You run this amazing business.
00:28:40.923 --> 00:28:42.355
You started it from scratch.
00:28:42.420 --> 00:28:44.036
It's very successful.
00:28:44.220 --> 00:28:49.172
And I mean, with money management, I mean, all these different things come to mind.
00:28:49.307 --> 00:28:50.867
He was like, yeah, I'd love that.
00:28:50.955 --> 00:28:52.675
So we have two workshops.
00:28:52.700 --> 00:28:55.140
It's exclusive to project rebound students.
00:28:55.332 --> 00:29:03.905
And he said one of the things that he's like, I'm really eager to share how to discuss in an interview the gap on the resume.
00:29:04.049 --> 00:29:05.913
Like, a lot of people don't know what to say.
00:29:05.953 --> 00:29:09.057
He's like, I hire formerly in carship so I can help.
00:29:09.105 --> 00:29:20.253
I could coach, but also the money management piece and how to reserve and how to invest and things like that, and then also how to run a successful business.
00:29:20.753 --> 00:29:23.801
So he's broken those up into two workshops.
00:29:23.938 --> 00:29:25.970
I did mention we have quite a few graduates.
00:29:26.001 --> 00:29:29.958
We have, like, over 16, I believe, total this year.
00:29:30.086 --> 00:29:32.566
So we do have a statewide graduation.
00:29:32.710 --> 00:29:34.238
All project rebounds to get together.
00:29:34.286 --> 00:29:41.317
Let me tell you, it is a party, not a party, a parti, and it's just really fun.
00:29:41.365 --> 00:29:43.074
We get together in San Francisco.
00:29:43.374 --> 00:29:46.750
That's where project rebound originated, San Francisco State University.
00:29:46.942 --> 00:29:49.509
So we get together there at the university.
00:29:49.622 --> 00:29:53.461
So they rent a space, catered food, music, I mean, everything.
00:29:53.557 --> 00:29:57.326
And we could bring our families, and it's truly amazing.
00:29:57.390 --> 00:29:58.749
So we have that, and then we do.
00:29:58.753 --> 00:30:04.605
We do have, like, a private dinner for our graduates, and they're allowed to bring some family members.
00:30:04.670 --> 00:30:07.557
And we usually host at a restaurant.
00:30:07.645 --> 00:30:08.582
Christmas is big for me.
00:30:08.597 --> 00:30:09.605
I love Christmas.
00:30:09.710 --> 00:30:20.269
Since I started, and since we've received the grant back in 2021, we've had our holiday dinner, and we've always had it at a restaurant, which has been really nice.
00:30:20.342 --> 00:30:22.165
I don't know how long we get to do that.
00:30:22.190 --> 00:30:28.094
Cause it's just expanding and expanding, expanding the student population, but we do that as well.
00:30:28.173 --> 00:30:32.766
Another thing that we do is I like to invite students to do presentations.
00:30:32.869 --> 00:30:43.993
So, for example, last week, we had a faculty member reach out, and they said they're covering a chapter in the book of incarceration, and we'd like to come speak to the class.
00:30:44.374 --> 00:30:48.753
And I always send out, like, an email, who's interested in sharing their story?
00:30:49.294 --> 00:30:52.390
Maybe I'll get one person, or maybe I'm asking one.
00:30:52.422 --> 00:30:53.678
Please, can you just come?
00:30:53.806 --> 00:30:58.470
I had five students show up, and so we took up the entire class.
00:30:58.582 --> 00:31:01.773
We actually went a little over, and I was like, I think we went over.
00:31:01.814 --> 00:31:06.334
We gotta go, you know, but so those are some of the initiatives that we have.
00:31:06.374 --> 00:31:11.605
There's a lot of different things that we try to do for the students and be very inclusive.
00:31:11.750 --> 00:31:14.894
You and your students also travel the country for conferences, right?
00:31:14.973 --> 00:31:17.326
Yeah, I was just going to share in conferences, too.
00:31:17.430 --> 00:31:26.829
So we've gone to New York, we've gone to Atlanta, Georgia, Denver, Colorado, San Diego, LA, multiple times.
00:31:26.981 --> 00:31:28.054
It's been truly amazing.
00:31:28.094 --> 00:31:35.564
I try to take at least two students with me, try to take different students as well, so they could, you know, try to get that opportunity.
00:31:35.864 --> 00:31:44.483
The last conference that we had attended was last month in LA, and it was at the project rebound, Cal State, La.
00:31:44.784 --> 00:31:45.615
So it was really cool.
00:31:45.640 --> 00:31:47.607
They got to meet other project rebound students.
00:31:47.736 --> 00:31:52.319
I try to pick locations where there's going to be other project rebound students.
00:31:52.392 --> 00:31:56.496
So also we do partner with a lot of organizations.
00:31:56.599 --> 00:31:59.327
I would say heavily in Stockton.
00:31:59.496 --> 00:32:02.480
I feel like Stanislaus county is not there yet.
00:32:02.592 --> 00:32:05.567
Stockton, oh, my God, it's like the pub of resources.
00:32:05.655 --> 00:32:09.279
I feel like in the Central Valley, there's so many.
00:32:09.352 --> 00:32:10.895
We have events all the time.
00:32:10.960 --> 00:32:12.804
We have meet monthly meetings.
00:32:13.144 --> 00:32:17.804
I would say for, like, Stanislaus county and San Joaquin county.
00:32:18.144 --> 00:32:21.976
One thing that is common is it's called the Pact meeting.
00:32:22.039 --> 00:32:35.119
Pact, which is the parole and community team meeting where community providers get together at the parole office and anybody who has paroled that particular month is mandated to go so they can get resources.
00:32:35.271 --> 00:32:38.104
So it's kind of like, you know, they mandate them to go.
00:32:38.144 --> 00:32:41.056
So it's like, hey, no, you're going to learn about these resources.
00:32:41.200 --> 00:32:42.884
These are some great opportunities.
00:32:43.223 --> 00:32:46.160
But I would say there's no comparison to San Joaquin county.
00:32:46.271 --> 00:32:49.607
We've been doing it for like, over ten years.
00:32:49.736 --> 00:32:51.776
I mean, a long time, heavily.
00:32:51.839 --> 00:32:54.523
There's so many community providers that show up.
00:32:54.824 --> 00:33:08.751
Stanislaus county is getting there, like, I think at the PAC meetings there, I would see like maybe five community partners altogether, whereas Sawonkeyen is like ten or more probably.
00:33:08.928 --> 00:33:11.943
And there's just like triple the amount of parolees.
00:33:12.064 --> 00:33:16.096
I personally don't like to call them parolees, but that's what they call them at the PAC meetings.
00:33:16.279 --> 00:33:20.160
I just say formerly incarcerated that show up to the packed meetings.
00:33:20.192 --> 00:33:23.288
So there's usually, like triple the amount that show up there.
00:33:23.455 --> 00:33:25.231
You've shared a lot of stories about successes.
00:33:25.288 --> 00:33:25.799
Yes.
00:33:25.912 --> 00:33:29.894
But on paper, when it comes to numbers and figures, how do you measure success?
00:33:30.064 --> 00:33:31.786
Yeah, success is measured.
00:33:31.849 --> 00:33:32.650
I mean, we.
00:33:32.721 --> 00:33:37.657
We would do reporting quarterly and annually, statewide.
00:33:37.826 --> 00:33:44.130
So the last report came out last year, and it was a 1% recidivism rate.
00:33:44.281 --> 00:33:45.849
And that's truly amazing.
00:33:45.922 --> 00:33:47.226
And that's with education.
00:33:47.410 --> 00:33:57.483
So imagine if you don't have that education piece, because with education, you have all the resources within the program in the on the campus community and then in the community.
00:33:57.644 --> 00:33:59.579
So we really, it's like, really holistic.
00:33:59.612 --> 00:34:08.804
We try to give that wraparound service to help remove any barriers and set them up for success and try to help them as much as possible.
00:34:08.963 --> 00:34:12.251
So a lot of short term success for you so far in the first five years.
00:34:12.387 --> 00:34:14.708
What are some of the long term goals you have in mind, though?
00:34:14.795 --> 00:34:32.512
Some of the long term goals that I have for project rebound, I mean, I would like to build a team, you know, I would like to get some funding to where we are not having to manage the grant with a, you know, a fine comb.
00:34:32.568 --> 00:34:33.164
Right.
00:34:33.503 --> 00:34:40.643
I would like to get a team to offer, like, more support and services for the students.
00:34:41.224 --> 00:34:44.483
My efforts can be on so many other things.
00:34:44.983 --> 00:34:48.583
Students are important, so I typically drop what I'm doing to help them.
00:34:48.623 --> 00:34:49.146
Right.
00:34:49.295 --> 00:34:54.554
But I do, like, other project rebound programs have, like, at least.
00:34:54.699 --> 00:34:58.179
At least three to five people on their team.
00:34:58.371 --> 00:35:08.378
It's just me and Anthony, but Anthony has been out for some time for personal reasons, and so it's like the burden has fallen on me.
00:35:08.411 --> 00:35:10.298
So it's like I'm spread so thin.
00:35:10.451 --> 00:35:16.858
But even regardless of being spread so thin or not, when you have a solid team, that is, focus on certain things.
00:35:16.905 --> 00:35:23.210
For example, you know, some campuses have someone focus strictly on the mail, because that's how much mail we get.
00:35:23.362 --> 00:35:26.929
But I'm doing all the mail, and I'm doing the transcript evaluations.
00:35:26.961 --> 00:35:32.969
I'm responding to all of them, collecting transcripts, doing all these things, guiding them, exactly what they need to do.
00:35:33.081 --> 00:35:34.362
And everyone's situation.
00:35:34.458 --> 00:35:35.442
So different.
00:35:35.577 --> 00:35:36.673
So different.
00:35:36.833 --> 00:35:44.974
I would like to see a team of three to five, you know, in the next few years, I would like to see more funding for the program.
00:35:45.393 --> 00:35:49.233
Right now, we receive about 175,000 a year.
00:35:49.313 --> 00:35:55.213
So whenever I do get that little bit of free time, I try to look out for additional grants.
00:35:55.514 --> 00:36:00.266
It would be nice to have that support for the students, but not only for the students, for me as well.
00:36:00.409 --> 00:36:06.994
You know, the last thing that I ever want to do is become burned out, and then I'm no good to nobody if I'm burned out.
00:36:07.114 --> 00:36:24.896
But also, and not to toot my own horn, but I'm so knowledgeable because of all the different roles that I've had within the community college here at Stan State, to be able to share that information with a team of people so that everybody knows what to do.
00:36:24.920 --> 00:36:33.536
Like, if someone needed to fulfill another person's role and review transcripts, if someone, you know, need to help a student in crisis, where do you start with that?
00:36:33.599 --> 00:36:36.224
You know, instead of panicking and walking?
00:36:36.264 --> 00:36:39.215
Because sometimes you can walk them to caps, you know?
00:36:39.280 --> 00:36:48.112
And, yeah, they could help with the mental health piece, but, like, actually, like, getting the resources in the community as well is key.
00:36:48.208 --> 00:36:55.295
You know, sometimes they have a house open with a bed, and then we can, like, put them right in there and there's no barrier.
00:36:55.320 --> 00:36:56.559
They don't have to jump through hoops.
00:36:56.632 --> 00:37:00.791
But at the same time, we have that resources here on campus as well.
00:37:00.927 --> 00:37:12.192
So that's where you have to go into kind of that knowledge, have that background knowledge, like, what is going to be best for the student and just knowing the student really well, that takes time.
00:37:12.367 --> 00:37:16.096
And I have put in all that time to get to know the students and their situation.
00:37:16.199 --> 00:37:24.688
So I'm not going to put a student here on campus if I know that living at another place because they have children is going to work better.
00:37:24.775 --> 00:37:25.407
Right.
00:37:25.576 --> 00:37:27.543
Nobody wants to be ripped away from their children.
00:37:27.583 --> 00:37:29.079
You cannot have children here on campus.
00:37:29.112 --> 00:37:34.552
So sorry for the long, drawn out answer, but that's the stuff that we're dealing with here, right?
00:37:34.728 --> 00:37:40.992
If there are people listening right now, if our audience wants to help support you and project rebound, how can they do that?
00:37:41.047 --> 00:37:42.664
Oh, there's so many different ways.
00:37:42.784 --> 00:37:49.112
Okay, so the first thing is we do have this amazing button on our project rebound website that says donate.
00:37:49.288 --> 00:37:54.088
So if you're, you know, feeling in your heart that you want to donate, you could donate some, some money.
00:37:54.135 --> 00:38:04.039
But if you don't have the money to donate, you can reach out to me and, you know, we can have a meeting to see what type of, like, services that you want to offer.
00:38:04.112 --> 00:38:06.255
Like, are you looking to be a mentor to a student?
00:38:06.280 --> 00:38:07.096
So I get that a lot.
00:38:07.119 --> 00:38:10.114
Like, hey, I have experience with X, Y, and Z.
00:38:10.273 --> 00:38:17.346
Let your students know if they need a mentor or, I'm just graduated from the criminal justice program.
00:38:17.530 --> 00:38:19.050
I know it like the in and outs.
00:38:19.081 --> 00:38:24.393
I'd love to help out with any of your criminal justice students, just different things like that.
00:38:24.514 --> 00:38:29.545
I think having a meeting first so we can get to know what your expertise is in.
00:38:29.730 --> 00:38:42.704
Also, just recently, I've been working on this for, like, over a year, but I developed an affinity group, and it's called Jia Jia justice impacted advocates.
00:38:43.043 --> 00:38:49.972
So anybody, it could be faculty, staff, students interested in being a part of this affinity group.
00:38:50.148 --> 00:38:51.467
That would be a great way.
00:38:51.516 --> 00:38:53.331
I haven't even had the first meeting yet.
00:38:53.427 --> 00:38:55.748
The website was just launched.
00:38:55.835 --> 00:39:03.492
I have a meeting coming up with the person in charge to kind of further discuss, like, okay, how should I facilitate our first meeting?
00:39:03.628 --> 00:39:08.512
How should I send the email out to campus wide to let everyone know?
00:39:08.648 --> 00:39:11.135
And with this, I think we can discuss different things.
00:39:11.199 --> 00:39:26.152
Like, you know, my ideas are having a book club, creating shirts, discussing different barriers, who has what type of, type of expertise, and what can they contribute, you know, to the group and to the student population here on campus.
00:39:26.208 --> 00:39:28.224
So that was something that was important.
00:39:28.304 --> 00:39:33.326
It's actually been on my bucket list since I started, and I'm barely getting to it.
00:39:33.400 --> 00:39:35.865
So, as you can see, I've been busy.
00:39:35.969 --> 00:39:47.769
And if there are any incarcerated or formerly incarcerated individuals listening, and they have academic aspirations, but they might be unsure or wary or doubtful, what would your message be to them right now?
00:39:47.882 --> 00:39:48.418
Honestly?
00:39:48.465 --> 00:39:50.242
If I can do it, you can do it.
00:39:50.297 --> 00:39:52.402
If our students can do it, you can do it.
00:39:52.498 --> 00:39:54.233
Don't let it intimidate you.
00:39:54.313 --> 00:39:59.842
We'll start off with our meeting so that way I can address any concerns and questions that you have.
00:39:59.978 --> 00:40:01.789
We'll take it step by step.
00:40:01.942 --> 00:40:03.494
And, I mean, I've had.
00:40:03.574 --> 00:40:05.365
I've had someone reach out to me.
00:40:05.389 --> 00:40:10.878
When I worked at Delta College, he didn't even have a GED, and now he's almost graduated with his bachelor's, so.
00:40:11.045 --> 00:40:13.197
And he missed all of high school.
00:40:13.286 --> 00:40:15.974
You know, I missed a lot of high school, to be quite honest with you.
00:40:16.014 --> 00:40:22.030
And here I am sitting in front of you running a program for formerly incarcerated that I developed.
00:40:22.141 --> 00:40:25.893
I have my master's with an extra year of a credential on top.
00:40:25.934 --> 00:40:29.230
So it was like it went from a two year to a three year master's program.
00:40:29.422 --> 00:40:33.461
And I'm a professor at Delta College for the administration of justice department.
00:40:33.597 --> 00:40:37.757
And let me tell you, that was the hardest interview I've ever had in my life.
00:40:37.846 --> 00:40:39.101
They had the hardest.
00:40:39.157 --> 00:40:41.797
I've never been grilled like that before.
00:40:41.925 --> 00:40:46.646
And even with the project rebound, I had eleven people on my committee.
00:40:46.750 --> 00:40:47.206
Eleven.
00:40:47.309 --> 00:40:49.077
The first one was a phone call.
00:40:49.206 --> 00:40:51.829
The second one was nine people in person.
00:40:51.981 --> 00:40:56.478
And then obviously, the third one was the provost and then the campus president.
00:40:56.646 --> 00:40:59.806
I say that to say, if I could do it, you could do it.
00:40:59.869 --> 00:41:01.936
If our students can do it, you can do it.
00:41:02.030 --> 00:41:04.588
And don't let anything hold you back.
00:41:04.755 --> 00:41:08.827
And we're here to support, and then we walk with you the whole way through.
00:41:08.956 --> 00:41:11.188
Danika, this has been a wonderful conversation.
00:41:11.315 --> 00:41:15.940
Before we end the podcast, is there anything else you'd like to share that we didn't cover?
00:41:16.052 --> 00:41:21.384
No, I think we covered a lot, and I really thank you for the opportunity and the platform.
00:41:21.684 --> 00:41:34.753
I feel like I've worked really hard over the last five years to get the word out, and anytime opportunities like this come around, I'm greatly appreciative of them, because it just.
00:41:34.793 --> 00:41:37.561
It's not another avenue to get the word out.
00:41:37.617 --> 00:41:42.929
It's another avenue to share with the campus community that this is out here.
00:41:43.081 --> 00:41:51.329
I mean, like, we did a presentation last week in one of the faculty members class, and when I asked, have you guys ever heard of Project Rebound?
00:41:51.362 --> 00:41:54.353
We had one person raise their hand out of the whole class.
00:41:54.434 --> 00:41:59.362
So I think it's gonna be an ongoing effort to continue to spread the word.
00:41:59.498 --> 00:42:00.610
But other than that, no.
00:42:00.641 --> 00:42:02.481
I'm really grateful for the opportunity.
00:42:02.617 --> 00:42:03.914
Thank you for joining the educast.
00:42:03.994 --> 00:42:05.034
Thank you so much.
00:42:05.153 --> 00:42:08.849
Thank you for listening to another episode of the Stan State Educast.
00:42:08.961 --> 00:42:13.706
This podcast was recorded on the campus of Stanislaus State in the KCSS studio.
00:42:13.809 --> 00:42:20.353
If you enjoyed this episode and want to listen to past episodes, follow and subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.
00:42:20.474 --> 00:42:31.737
You can also find this podcast along with other Stan State podcasts, if you visit www.csustan.edu podcast until our next episode, I'm Frankie Tovar.
00:42:31.826 --> 00:42:32.673
Have a wonderful day.