Learning can happen anywhere, including inside the walls of a maximum security prison.
Back-to-school jitters, even for college students, are normal. But this first-day was light years from normal. Nine Siena students, in a van driven by Annie Rody-Wright, J.D., director of the Criminal Justice Studies Program, took the almost two-hour ride south from campus to Green Haven Maximum Security Prison. No one talked as they breached the imposing concrete walls and stepped inside. Guards were ever present, but a sense of danger still hung in the air as they sat in the cold, intimidating visiting room... waiting. Eventually, 11 incarcerated men, convicted of crimes the students were trying not to imagine, filed in one-by-one. The tension was almost frightening. And then...
"One of the incarcerated men walked up to the students, looked each one in the eye and smiled as he shook their hands and introduced himself," said Rody-Wright. "In two seconds, he put everyone at ease. Then we paired them off and it was almost like speed dating with discussion prompts. They changed partners every few minutes and there was laughing. They all bonded quickly."
Class was in session.
Temple University founded the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program in 1997. The course, which is now offered in almost every state with instructors trained from more than 400 colleges and universities, unites traditional college students (on the outside) with incarcerated people (on the inside). The semester-long program challenges the students (outside and inside) to explore issues of crime and justice together, based on the assumption that students from both sides of the prison walls might learn something from each other.
Rody-Wright, who's had years of experience teaching inside prisons, earned her Inside-Out teacher certification in 2024, and also earned the support of Siena. She intended to pilot the program at a medium security prison, but when that plan fell through, she pivoted to Green Haven. This past fall, she offered the course for the first time, but before that, she reached out to a formerly incarcerated person, who wrote a book on teaching on the inside, for advice.
"He told me that when I brought in teaching supplies, like index cards, I should make sure they're not all white. There's no color in prison. Something as simple as colored index cards can brighten the place."
The material was all related to restorative justice. The students talked about crime and repairing the harm it caused. They talked on the topics of the day and analyzed the readings from their own perspectives, and then heard from perspectives they had never considered. They also connected, on a personal and human level, and they celebrated milestones like you would in any other class.
"We found out that it was one of the incarcerated classmate's birthday. One of the Siena students suggested that we all sing 'Happy Birthday,' so we did. After each class, I have the students journal about the day. The person we sang to wrote about how special that moment was. It was the first time anyone had sang him 'Happy Birthday' in more than 30 years."
The incarcerated students each received three credits and a grade in the course. Siena waived the course fee. "I gave out a lot of As. Many of them are brilliant and they have no idea." On the last day of the semester, Rody-Wright had the class sit in a circle and she took out a ball of yarn. Each student was asked to toss the ball to a classmate and say something you admire about them. As the ball was tossed, a web, connecting the inside to the outside, was formed. At the end, Rody-Wright clipped a piece of the web and made bracelets for everyone. Rules of the program prevent any future contact between the Siena students and their incarcerated classmates. Two weeks later, Rody-Wright went back to the prison one final time without the Siena students.
"Several of the men held up their wrists. They were still wearing their bracelets." They're not the only ones.
Phones aren't allowed inside the prison, so there are no pictures of Siena's inaugural inside-out class. The Siena students, as part of the course, took field trips to other prisons and facilities.
"I had never been in a prison before. When we first walked in, I was a nervous wreck. I was terrified. But that first incarcerated classmate we met made us all feel so comfortable. The whole experience was just so eye-opening.
Since I was a little girl, I've always wanted to be a defense attorney. I just want to be able to experience people's humanity. We share so much with each other. Some of them made one mistake, and it completely derailed their lives. They're denied basic needs. They're searched every time they enter a room. Sometimes it's dehumanizing. But they were so amazing to be with. I really believe they looked to us to make a difference. We're a chance for change. It was just such a wonderful experience."
Keyli Espana '27
"The incarcerated men felt really comfortable talking to us, and we felt really comfortable talking to them. I opened up about things I don't even say to my closest friends. I feel like if I was incarcerated I would hold jealousy and resentment for those on the outside. There was none of that. They wanted to hear about us and our lives and our dorm rooms. They said that they wanted to kind of live vicariously through us. They were even keeping track of how the Siena basketball team was doing so we could talk about it!"
Talia Narzymski '26
