Incarcerated students celebrate graduation with their families – a milestone in prison

Incarcerated Cuesta College students celebrated graduation Thursday at the California Men’s Colony State Prison.

Their completion was not the only milestone.

The prison allowed family members to attend graduation ceremonies for the first time.

Some incarcerated students told KSBY News this milestone is worth celebrating.

“It’s good to be with your peers because it’s a moment of celebration for all of us,” said Roderick Lynn Coleman, a Rising Scholars student. “When you’re in prison you get a bad rap and right now I’m just feeling it. It’s not often that we have the opportunity to celebrate together. Being in prison, we can’t celebrate the little things in life.”

Some graduates were not present at the ceremony due to parole or transfer.

However, 24 Cuesta College Rising Scholars students earned an Associate of Arts Degree, three students earned a high school diploma, 19 students earned a GED, and two others earned a Certificate of Attendance and Participation.

“It’s an amazing experience,” said Prateek Bhargava, a Rising Scholars student. “All the hard work, dedication and challenges that come with it. This is an incredible opportunity that this institution has created for us. And I’m just grateful that I can take advantage of it.”

Coleman says his father was a mentor throughout his life.

“Being a minority, it’s rare to have a father at home, so I’m proud of that because I often feel like I let him down,” Coleman said. “This moment, when I’m in prison and he’s still alive after 16 years of my imprisonment, is probably one of the greatest moments I’ve ever experienced.”

Roderick Lynn Coleman’s father was present and is pleased to have achieved higher education.

“We’ve been working on this since he could walk,” Rodney Coleman Sr. said. “It took a long time for him to see what I wanted to show him. Well, once he saw the difference and committed to that education and saw what it meant and what it could do for his future, it changed his life and I’m glad he continued to do it.”

Luis Venegas was previously incarcerated at the California Men’s Colony West Facility five years ago and was asked to be the keynote speaker at the ceremony.

He is also a former Rising Scholars student.

“I really enjoyed my education and college experience,” Venegas said. “I was able to use a lot of those skills when I got out and kind of kept in touch since I was out of the game. I was also asked to give a few words of encouragement to the graduating class.”

Coleman and Bhargava want to encourage their younger peers to pursue higher education.

“I try to encourage people, especially my younger peers coming into the 21, 22, 23 system, that – you can’t come to prison and go home thinking that you’re going to be different, you’re going to continue to repeat the same cycle,” Coleman said. “Education is a process that helps you think critically. The more information you have, the more successful you can be. I would tell my peers, man, to stop sitting in your cell and get to work. Time is of the essence.”

“My passion is to give back to my community,” Bhargava said. “This is my community. And this is where I want to look for young people. I want to find people who have been in despair, who are in despair and have lost hope, and tell them and share with them my story that if I can do it, they can do it too.”

For more information about the Rising Scholars program at Cuesta College, click here.