Goucher Prison Education Partnership

Aldercy Lugo has been enrolled with GPEP since spring 2019. She has grown tremendously as a student and as an English as a Second Language speaker. She is not only dedicated to her own courses, but volunteers her time to support her classmates’ success, serving as a Peer Tutor in Spanish.

William Freeman III is formerly incarcerated person who served 21 years in prison, where he completed 75 credits while enrolled through GPEP, and then transferred onto Goucher’s main campus to finish his BA. In 2020, he graduated cum laude, majoring in Sociology and Anthropology. He is now a Bloomberg Fellow at Johns Hopkins University, where he is completing his Master’s in Public Health. William is the Manager of Higher Education Justice Initiatives at the Education Trust, where he works with the policy team to provide an equity perspective on higher education in prison issues and manages the fellowship program. He was recently featured as one of Baltimore Magazine’s GameChangers. 

Athil (W.L. McCoy) earned his BA (majoring in American Studies) from Goucher in 2022. While he works full-time outside of class in the print shops of the Maryland Correctional Enterprise, he also managed to remain enrolled full-time nearly every semester of his college career. When his academic advisor was asked to describe him, she said Athil is one of the most dedicated, detail-oriented, and thoughtful students she has ever worked with. While he remains at MCIJ, he is an actively engaged alum, auditing classes where there is space and serving as a tutor to current students.

Ramieka Robinson, a former GPEP student, works full-time as GPEP’s Senior Site Director because she is a firm believer in the transformative power of education and is passionate about helping today’s students in prison advance their education. She is currently finishing her BA on Goucher’s main campus majoring in Business Management and minoring in Sociology and Anthropology. 

After earning 31 credits with Goucher through GPEP, Nancy Joe Wright went on to complete an AA in Human Services, an AA in Addiction Counseling, and a Veterans Counseling Certification. She is now completing her BA in Social Work from the University of Baltimore County and is already making plans to complete her master’s degree.  

Maurice Smith graduated cum laude from Goucher in 2019 and holds a BA in American Studies with a minor in sociology. He is now a Program Analyst at the Vera Institute of Justice, and an outspoken advocate for criminal justice reform and postsecondary education in prison. He is particularly interested in the birth of America’s prison system and how to rethink crime and punishment. He is currently applying to graduate school. 

Janet Johnson has been enrolled with GPEP since 2014. She has earned the honor of Dean’s List twice and expects to graduate with her BA from Goucher College, majoring in American Studies, in May 2024. She has excelled in classes including Sociological Imagination, Statistics, American Political System, and Professional Communication. 

Eric G. Banks, Sr. is a seasoned Goucher student, having completed over 60% of his bachelor’s degree. On top of school, he works full-time in germ prevention and some of his favorite classes with Goucher have been in political science.

Donalto Marshall earned his BA from Goucher in 2022, graduating cum laude. During his time as a student, he co-authored a Baltimore Sun op-ed, completed an internship at the Smithsonian Museum of American History, ran his own small business, and worked part-time in the GPEP office.

Antwane Brown has earned over 40 credits with Goucher. During the pandemic, he was surprised to find how much he ended up enjoying his dance history course titled Dancing in the Past and Present: Romanticism and Beyond. He has also excelled in Personal and Community Ethics (a philosophy course), Introduction to Environmental Science, Statistics, and more. He loves to sing and rap and is a quiet leader in the Goucher community at MCIJ.