Dozens of men graduate with their high school diplomas after ODOC staff invest time and effort into their success

ALVA, OKLA. - There have been detours and obstacles. But these men are on a new path in life. In front of family and staff –  dozens of inmates at Bill Johnson Correctional Center in Alva are getting their high school diplomas.

“Well, I am a five-time loser,” inmate Johnny Johnson said. “I’ve been to prison five times. I finally became someone they can respect and look up to. Getting my diploma is something I’ve tried five times to do. It’s not easy to do but I put my mind to it and got it.”

Success takes a team of case managers, officers, teachers - seeing potential and nurturing growth.

“Anyone can see how many seeds are in an apple, but it takes a special person to see the apple in a seed,” BJCC teacher Connie Anton said. “If you can work with a young man and help him to achieve this, it not only helps him but his family on the outside.”

Michael Parks will be released in 85 days. He will take what he’s learned at the Department of Corrections to become a peer recovery specialist – helping others who struggle with addiction.

“There is definitely a good staff here, teachers who really care,” Parks said. “They put in the effort and don’t give up on you which is really important. It means the world to me. In 20 years of addiction, that’s not something you get used it.”

ODOC believes, when you show the incarcerated they still have value, there is no telling how far they might go.

“It really doesn’t matter where you start, what matters is where you end up,” Anton said.

At the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, we change lives.