Leading through education

Sajad Shakoor, BSS ’13; Sean Bearden, AS ’11; and Sandra Brown, BSS ’12, all gravitated toward teaching while incarcerated and enrolled with Ohio University.

Shakoor was working at the furniture factory at San Quentin State Prison in California, and all inmate employees were required to have a GED. He was offered a raise (from 18 cents an hour to 56 cents an hour) if he would teach GED courses in math and writing. Shakoor did so for the next three years.

“This was something I liked and I was good at. I connected with the guys, and there was something about giving back in this way,” he said. “When I saw my guys get their GED and getting enrolled in college, confidence comes about in them. They felt like they could go on and do other things.”

Bearden remembered having a gift for mathematics even at a young age in elementary school when he solved three-digit multiplication problems in his head. Bearden served as a teacher’s assistant in prison and taught other students GED math.

In addition to working as a teaching assistant in her correctional facility, Brown also has taught inmate students how to write a résumé and talk to potential employers. She suggests being honest about what happened and stressing productive usage of time while incarcerated, particularly any skills developed. Brown references her educational experiences to inspire the women she teaches.

“When the women hear about the opportunities I’ve had, it gives them hope. That keeps me impassioned about what I do,” Brown said.

—Megan Bulow, BSJ ’06, communication manager, Office of Instructional Innovation at OHIO