Education has the power to change a prisoner’s attitude about himself and paves the way for a fruitful life in society, says a San Quentin volunteer.
The key to success is staying focused and motivated, said Xan Sarah Chacko, a native of India who is working on a Ph.D. degree in cultural studies at the University of California at Davis.
She is a volunteer with the Prison University Project, which offers San Quentin prisoners classes in the humanities, social sciences, math and science, leading to an Associate of Arts degree.
Chacko came to the United States in 2001 as an undergraduate student at Wellesley College in Boston, majoring in physics and women studies. After returning from India, she came back to the United States in 2011 to attend UC-Davis.
She said PUP “is a fantastic opportunity for the students and volunteers. I feel fortunate to participate.”
The PUP mission is “to provide excellent higher education to San Quentin prisoners and to stimulate public awareness and meaningful dialogue about higher education and criminal justice in California and across the United States.”
Educational programs such as PUP have been shown to have a considerable effect on recidivism rates. According to a study by the US Department of Education, the re-arrest, re-conviction, and re-incarceration recidivism rates were lower for education participants than non-participants, and in every category the differences were statistically significant.”
