Eighteen incarcerated women at Logan Correctional Center in Illinois earned bachelor’s degrees from Northwestern University during a ceremony held October 16 at the Kewanee Life Skills Re-Entry Center in Kewanee, Illinois. The event marked the first time women incarcerated in the United States completed a bachelor’s degree program through a top-tier university’s prison education initiative.
The graduates, who traveled nearly 100 miles to attend the ceremony, participated in the Northwestern Prison Education Program, which has provided educational opportunities to incarcerated individuals across Illinois since 2018. The program offers various courses ranging from college readiness to full degree programs. This cohort began their studies in the fall of 2021 and completed a Bachelor of Science in General Studies over five years, focusing primarily on social sciences.
Former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, addressing the graduates as the commencement speaker, praised their achievement, stating, “In the history of the world, there has never been anyone like you.” Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss and Northwestern philosophy professor Jennifer Lackey, who founded the program, also spoke at the ceremony. Lackey emphasized the transformative potential of education and the uncertainty of where the graduates’ new qualifications might lead them, encouraging them to see their achievements as the beginning of new possibilities.
The ceremony featured personal speeches from the graduates, many of whom spoke about their aspirations beyond the prison walls, including careers in teaching, advocacy for penal reform, and the promotion of restorative justice. Some were emotional recounting their journeys, expressing gratitude to program staff and their families for their support.
One graduate, Stephanie Bonds, who is serving a 45-year sentence for first-degree murder, expressed mixed emotions about the milestone. Her daughter, Jala Johnson, traveled from Detroit with Bonds’ three-year-old granddaughter to witness the event. Johnson noted the special significance of being able to attend her mother’s graduation, a role reversal she found meaningful since Bonds was unable to attend Johnson’s own graduation.
Bonds shared her hope to apply her newly acquired knowledge toward a future career in psychology, despite remaining incarcerated. “I feel a step closer, but I’m wondering how I can reach that goal,” she said, adding that she intends to continue her education and use her degree while still in prison.
Johnson expressed pride in her mother’s accomplishment, saying, “My mom deserves this. She deserves everything that’s coming to her in the most positive way there is.” The graduation not only celebrated the academic success of the women but also highlighted the growing momentum of prison education programs aimed at expanding opportunities and reducing recidivism.