COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – Twenty-three incarcerated men at Lakeland Correctional Facility in Coldwater, celebrated a major academic milestone last week, as they became the first cohort to earn business degrees and certificates from Kellogg Community College (KCC).
The milestone ceremony mirrored traditional commencements by featuring caps and gowns, speeches, and a walk across the stage in front of visiting family and friends.
During the ceremony, KCC President Dr. Paul Watson conferred business management and entrepreneurship degrees to the graduates, the majority of whom also achieved induction into the Phi Beta Kappa honor society for maintaining exceptionally high grade point averages.
Watson told the new graduates they had re defined their future
The graduation marks a significant expansion of higher education in Michigan’s prison systems.
According to the Michigan Department of Corrections, the initiative allows incarcerated individuals to rebuild their lives and prepare for successful reentry into the workforce by learning valuable leadership, business, and financial skills.
KCC’s Prison Education Program is one of many collegiate partnerships operating in correctional facilities across the state, with dozens of students earning credentials this year to significantly improve their post-release employment prospects.
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