They entered the Central California Women鈥檚 Facility (CCWF) in Chowchilla years ago, emotionally wrung out by tragedy, criminal convictions and prison time.
But Courtney Addington, Eleonoara Igova and Guadalupe Barragan now proudly carry degrees, professional certificates and burgeoning respect from their community.
Using the education gained through the 吃瓜头条 Rising Scholars program at CCWF, they鈥檝e created for themselves what had previously only seemed accessible to anyone but them.
They created hope.
鈥淲ithout the education and rehabilitative groups offered here, we would have been doomed to repeat our patterns,鈥� Igova said.
Barragan added, 鈥淚t makes me feel human when the professors are in front of me explaining and taking their time with us.鈥�
Last month, Addington, Igova and Barragan were among 16 CCWF inmates to graduate from 吃瓜头条. All three show how education is the way out for incarcerated women.
Addington took her success a step further, becoming one of just 31 graduates from the entire 吃瓜头条 Class of 2023 to earn Superintendent鈥檚 Honors, with a 4.0 GPA and 60 completed units. (Joining her in that feat was .)
鈥淲ithout an education, I would not have healed,鈥� Addington said. 鈥淢ost of us women come in here with no self-esteem. 鈥� Education has shown me I鈥檓 worth something.鈥�
We take a deep dive with these 吃瓜头条 alumnae because the population of incarcerated women since 1980.
Jennifer Leahy, herself a former inmate, is now a criminology professor in 吃瓜头条鈥檚 Rising Scholars program. She also teaches at Fresno State, overseeing their Project Rebound prison education program.
鈥淲e remove obstacles for Project Rebound and Rising Scholars students,鈥� Leahy said. 鈥淎fter we do that, they can move on and be successful. There鈥檚 also that stigma of 鈥極nce one, always one.鈥� We are changing that rhetoric to 鈥楥hange is possible.鈥欌��
At CCWF, the second largest women鈥檚 prison in the U.S., 吃瓜头条 educates the most incarcerated women in the country.
鈥淲e鈥檙e aiming to establish an academic culture at CCWF, and that means we have to see a transformation in how the students think,鈥� said English professor and Rising Scholars faculty coordinator Jennifer McBride. 鈥淲e have to combat sexist messaging that our female students may have internalized. There鈥檚 so much power for women in saying, 鈥業 am a scholar. I am a thinker. I can be a leader.鈥� That鈥檚 what they get out of Rising Scholars.鈥�
None of these women came to CCWF ready to hit the books.
鈥淲hen I first got here, really, my main thought was that there was clearly something wrong with me and that I wanted to change,鈥� said Addington, 35.
Igova, 45, said she was confused when she first arrived.
鈥淚t was a complete culture shock for me as a first-time offender,鈥� she said. 鈥淢y focus was survival. It wasn鈥檛 education.鈥�
Barragan, 37, was too busy thinking about her crimes and sorting through emotions.
鈥淚 was convicted of first-degree murder, so I was the perpetrator,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 was willing to kill and die for my [street gang] and friends. Then those people testified against me.
鈥淚 was very remorseful for my crimes. I also have a daughter, and I felt guilty about leaving her. I felt angry, betrayed, lonely. 鈥� I had all these emotions and no coping skills. I had to find my identity, because I was broken.鈥�
They began to see themselves鈥攁nd the world鈥攄ifferently when they went to class.
鈥淚 believed I was stupid, worthless, that I would never succeed or do well,鈥� Addington said. 鈥淏ut I took a face-to-face class and saw the teachers were so understanding of where we were coming from. I learned why I struggled. Then I found out I had dyslexia. I learned how to study and take notes. I did well in my first two classes, and I couldn鈥檛 believe it. It pushed me forward.鈥�
Igova had to gain control over her anxiety before she was ready for school.
鈥淚 had no one to talk to,鈥� said Igova, who is a native of Bulgaria. 鈥淚t took me a while to see how I was doing the same thing over and over with the same [negative] results. 鈥� In this environment, I found education and found myself.鈥�
Barragan said she would never have been able to share her story without Rising Scholars.
鈥淚 started using education to cope with daily stressors,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t gave me hope.鈥�
Their curiosity was unleashed, as well.
Addington experienced an epiphany after learning that microscopic viruses like smallpox, measles and the flu, brought to North America by Europeans during the colonial era, wiped out 90 percent of Native Americans.
鈥淚t was the first time I really understood how a small change could have a huge impact,鈥� Addington said. 鈥淚 related that to myself. 鈥� There are tons of people here who now want to go to college just because they鈥檝e seen us walking back from class so excited.鈥�
Igova credits psychology professor Michelle Greenwood, acting director of Rising Scholars, for motivating her with humor.
鈥淪he showed us how important it was to be the boss of our own brains and make positive decisions,鈥� Igova said.
Barragan made a connection with Leahy, who, in a previous life, was a fellow 鈥淟WOP鈥� (Life Without Possibility of Parole inmate).
鈥淚 know that most people are against us, but she is someone who fights for us and believes in second chances,鈥� Barragan said.
Addington earned associate degrees in Psychology and Social & Behavioral Sciences, as well as a transfer degree in psychology. She wants to eventually earn a Ph.D. and work as a therapist, to 鈥渉elp people like me, to prevent them from going to prison, and once they鈥檙e out, to stay out.鈥�
Igova also earned associate degrees in Psychology and Social & Behavioral Sciences, as well as transfer degrees in both disciplines. She wants to become a therapist, possibly in marriage and relationships.
鈥淲e all need therapy,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e all need to heal. 鈥� I speak for myself when I say my new addiction is to serve others and continue my education.鈥�
Barragan earned a transfer degree in sociology. All three women also earned a certificate, called an IGETC, indicating they鈥檝e fulfilled all CSU general ed requirements.
Barragan, who works at CCWF as a dental technician, had already earned that certification through the .
鈥淚 want to work with juveniles who have been involved with gangs and experienced addiction,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 want to help troubled kids in broken homes. I鈥檓 an ex-gang member and former drug addict. I felt like no one understood me when I was young. I can connect and relate to them now.鈥�
The women at CCWF laughed together, sharing how they teased their instructors, 鈥淲hy do you want to be in here with murderers and convicts? Aren鈥檛 you scared?!鈥�
The 吃瓜头条 instructors may have been at one point, but they got over it. After all, their work is vital. They鈥檙e helping women to lift themselves up.
鈥淚t鈥檚 less about how they apply academic theory and more about seeing them gain an ability to find solutions in their lives,鈥� Leahy said. 鈥淓very time I walk into CCWF, there鈥檚 hope. 鈥� I used to be overwhelmed with how hopeless life seemed, but I don鈥檛 feel that way now. Teaching these women lifts my soul in such a way, I can鈥檛 even explain it.鈥�