I’m very grateful to Dr. Sam Torres of California State University in Long Beach. He is Professor of Criminal Justice at the university, and for 20 years before he joined academia, Dr. Torres served as a U.S. Probation and Parole officer. Today I received a beautiful certificate of appreciation from the university.
Certificate of Appreciation issued by Dr. Sam Torres
Dr. Torres sent me the certificate because I made contributions to his class. As part of their coursework, the students of his class on corrections read some of my writings. Then they asked questions, questions that I would respond to from the perspective of a long-term prisoner. All of those responses are available for review through my blog postings of early this year.
Dr. Torres may have issued me a certificate, but the truth is that I considered the opportunity to participate in the project an honor and a privilege. This certificate becomes a part of my resume, but the real gift is in the trust that Dr. Torres placed in me by allowing me to contribute.
As a prisoner, I have been blessed with many opportunities to interact with society. It is a special privilege, on that I truly cherish, to contribute to the education of others. Those who follow my work know that I completed all of my university studies from inside prison boundaries. I’ve yet to step foot on a university campus, walk in to a university library, or interact with others in a community of scholars. I’ve always been a prisoner. As such, the university has special meaning to me. It symbolizes liberty, the freedom to learn, to become something more. I look forward to contributing to universities upon my release, and these opportunities I have now give me a small taste of liberty. I’m grateful.
I spent most of my day writing a project outline for a ghost-writing project. I don’t know whether the project will move beyond the six hours I invested today, but we’ll see.
I ran 10 miles this morning, bringing my mileage tally to 1,586 miles over the past 180 days.
Wednesday, 10 June 2009
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