The summer cohort of formerly incarcerated students, known as Transitions but soon to be Rising Scholars, gathered for a celebration of completion and new beginnings.<\/p>\n
SAN MARCOS \u2014 Twenty-one formerly incarcerated scholars gathered with family, friends, and faculty at Palomar College to celebrate the Summer 2020 completion ceremony on Friday, July 22, 2022.<\/p>\n
During the ceremony, the college unveiled plans to provide the five-year-old program with a permanent building on campus.<\/p>\n
It was the latest honor among a growing list of achievements for Palomar\u2019s Transitions program, which will change its name to Rising Scholars in keeping with the launch of similar community college programs across the state, and its recent designation as part of the Rising Scholars Network.<\/p>\n
The ceremony was characteristically moving, lively, and deeply emotional, as a variety of speakers shared personal stories, gratitude and encouragement for their fellow students.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Transitions program has helped me stay on track, out of a world of chaos and oppression,\u201d said Cynthia Murillo, a 2022 cohort graduate who spoke during the ceremony. \u201cIt\u2019s not just a cohort of formerly incarcerated individuals\u2014to me, it\u2019s a family that has come from a similar background as mine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Palomar\u2019s Superintendent\/President, Dr. Star Rivera-Lacey, spoke to an audience of around 100 people, emphasizing the importance of Rising Scholars to the campus community.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a crown jewel for Palomar College, and to our fifth cohort, congratulations! I\u2019m so overwhelmingly happy that you have found an academic home with Palomar,\u201d said Dr. Rivera-Lacey. \u201cThis is your casa\u2014you belong here, you are valued here, and this institution would not be the same without you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Rivera-Lacey also presented the inaugural Paulo Freire Liberation Through Education Award to Martin Leyva, who founded Transitions at Palomar, and similar programs at MiraCosta College and Cal State San Marcos.<\/p>\n
\u201cI cannot think of a more well-deserving recipient of this award,\u201d she said. \u201cMartin Leyva\u2019s profound commitment to his students, and to this program, is to be commended. It is because of his vision that we\u2019re able to be here to celebrate the achievement of our fifth cohort.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leyva accepted the award and spoke of his own experiences as a formerly incarcerated student, which led him to form the first program of its kind at Santa Barbara City College in 2008.<\/p>\n
\u201cI walked out of prison 15 years ago terrified of what society had in store for me,\u201d said Leyva, who teaches in the summer program at Palomar. \u201cMany of us are re-entering a society that pushes us away and marginalizes us, and so when we re-enter, often, we go back to our addictions, our ways of living, and back to prison, because we don\u2019t know how to function out here. But 15 years ago, I found education and fell in love with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leyva added: \u201cThank you, especially, to our students\u2014this work doesn\u2019t exist, it means nothing, unless you take that brave step to walk in the door.\u201d<\/p>\n
Friday\u2019s ceremony concluded with a presentation of the new RS Building (for \u201cRising Scholars\u201d), which will take an unmistakable location along the driveway of the main entrance to campus, with lights illuminating the word \u201cRISE\u201d as visitors arrive. The project, with indoor and outdoor study and gathering spaces and resources for Rising Scholars students, is scheduled for opening in Spring 2023.<\/p>\n
The Rising Scholars program helps previously incarcerated individuals adjust to a college campus and successfully begin or resume their higher education. It also serves currently incarcerated students in the Vista Detention Facility.<\/p>\n
The summer session, for which Friday\u2019s ceremony served as a graduation, introduces students to the program and includes tutoring, weekly team building activities, guest speakers, two for-credit classes, and various other forms of support.<\/p>\n
The statewide Rising Scholars movement was established in October 2021 following the unanimous passage of California Assembly Bill 417, which included funding for \u201cservices in support of postsecondary education for justice-involved students\u201d throughout the California Community College system.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"