Former GPEP student and Goucher alumnus Donte Small and GPEP Director of College Operations Meredith Conde helped spread excitement about GPEP’s 10th anniversary and the impact of an in-person, liberal arts college education in prison in a recent interview on Baltimore’s WBAL-TV.

On Friday, November 11, GPEP celebrated its first ten years with a symposium exploring The Value of an In-Person, Liberal Arts College Education in Prison. GPEP Executive Director Eliza Cornejo and Goucher College President Kent Devereaux were joined by Robert Green, the Secretary of Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, and Max Kenner, Executive Director of the Bard Prison Initiative.

Each year, Goucher College undergraduates are eligible to apply for three Phi Beta Kappa Awards. In 2022, GPEP students participated for the first time. The Phi Beta Kappa Award for Fine Arts was awarded to a student at MCIW, Shaka Wakefield. Inspired by Dutch graphic artist M.C. Escher, Shaka's winning piece represents her journey in understanding perspective. Using a limited medium of colored pencils and sharpie pens, she was able to achieve extraordinary depth. Shaka's participation in the process and selection as the winner helps shift perspectives of GPEP students--both among GPEP students themselves in recognizing their value on a level playing field, and among members of Goucher's Towson campus whose viewpoints are broadened and strengthened by their fellow students at the prison campuses.

GPEP alumnus William Freeman was a member of the Education Trust’s inaugural cohort of Justice Policy Fellows. Together, the fellows created a toolkit for advocates and policy makers working to advance college opportunities for justice-impacted students (“justice-impacted” or “system-impacted” are preferred terms for referring to individuals who are or have been in prison).

GPEP is honored to partner with the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in the creation of the GPEP Alumni Internship Program, which is part of its Center for Restorative History. GPEP Alumni Interns hold year-long, paid internships in which they gain valuable work experience as they contribute to a more inclusive understanding of U.S. history.