Witnessing Transformation: A Student’s View of Commencement in Campbell’s Second Chance Initiative

Every two years, the Second Chance Initiative at Campbell University celebrates a milestone that represents years of perseverance, discipline, and transformation: commencement. Because the program awards both Associate and Bachelor’s degrees within a cohort model, the ceremony marks the culmination of a multi-year academic journey for students who have committed themselves to earning a college degree while incarcerated.

For the men and women who walk across the stage, it represents years of hard work and personal growth. For students earlier in their academic journey, it can serve as a powerful reminder of what is possible.

Last year, one of the most moving reflections came not from a graduate, but from a new student experiencing his very first college commencement.

Tony Johnson, an incoming freshman in the program, attended the 2025 Second Chance Initiative commencement ceremony as an observer. For Tony, the experience was more than simply witnessing a graduation. It was a moment that reshaped how he saw his own future as a college student.

Tony described the morning of the ceremony vividly. Wearing his Campbell University NC Department of Adult Correction student T-shirt for the first time, he felt a sense of pride and anticipation that was difficult to contain. What he experienced that day, however, expanded that feeling even further.

“As I experienced my first college graduation for 11 men who had been through more difficulty than anyone can imagine but still reached the stars, I was inspired, motivated, and excited to new heights.”

Just a few years earlier, those same graduates sat in the same freshman section where Tony now sits – wondering if earning a college degree was truly possible. Watching them cross the stage was a powerful reminder that the journey he is beginning has a real and attainable destination.

For many students in prison education programs, commencement is more than a ceremony. It represents transformation and perseverance, an outward symbol of the inward work students commit themselves to every day.

Tony reflected on this idea as he considered his own path forward.

“For me, enrolling in Campbell University is about growth, which leads to transformation and redemption. In four years, I will walk across the stage and receive an outward symbol of my commitment to inward change.”

He also spoke about how witnessing the graduates’ character and professionalism shaped his own commitment to the program. The men who graduated demonstrated that education inside prison can produce leaders who carry themselves with integrity both inside and outside the classroom.

“The men who graduated from the program stand out in any environment. They conduct themselves with an integrity and professionalism that shines bright whether they are inside the prison fences or giving graduate speeches at a commencement ceremony.”

Perhaps most powerfully, Tony described how education offers an opportunity to move beyond the labels that often define people in correctional settings.

“For years, I have been called many negative stereotypical labels: criminal, felon, and inmate. Now I am excited to step into the classroom and be called a Campbell University student.”

Stories like Tony’s remind us why student perspectives are so important in understanding the impact of higher education in prison. While metrics like completion rates and employment outcomes are important, the deeper transformation taking place in students’ lives is often best captured through their own voices.

Tony left the ceremony inspired not only by the graduates’ accomplishments, but by the possibility of his own future.

“The next four years will not be easy, but the long nights and hard work will be worth it, because in the end, I will reach the stars.”

Tony’s reflection reminds us that commencement in the Second Chance Initiative is not only a celebration of achievement, but also a moment that motivates others who are just beginning their journey.