Shianne is an "outside" student. She was enrolled in the fall 2024 Inside-Out Prison Exchange program, which is offered by the University of North Texas. She traveled to Bridgeport weekly for a night class at Bridgeport Correctional Center with other "outside" UNT students. The other half of the class is made up of men incarcerated at the correctional facility.

They're known as the "inside" students.

“Anytime you tell someone you’re taking a class in a prison they’re like, ‘Are you scared?’” Shianne said with a smile. “The people in this class are some of the most kind and compassionate people I know.”

During a closing ceremony to commemorate a successful semester, Shianne shared she’s been observing the justice system her whole life. Her father has been incarcerated since before she was born.

“I’ve felt a lot of pain from my father’s incarceration,” Shianne said.

The UNT senior is channeling that pain into motivation as she pursues her bachelor’s degree and, eventually, a law degree.

“The UNT students are getting a firsthand experience in seeing what our criminal system actually looks like,” Dr. Haley Zettler said. 

Zettler became interested in the Inside-Out program when she was a student after reading an article about it. She later led the program at the University of Memphis before lobbying to bring it to UNT.

Zettler recalled her time as a probation officer. She admitted to being somewhat naïve to what her interactions would be like.

“I realized people were people and people make mistakes, and so I thought that was important to convey to our UNT students that want to go work in the system,” Zettler said.

The class meets for one evening per week during the semester. Whether they are inside or outside students, they are treated as equals.

“Every student is assigned the same class material, the same assignments, the same readings,” Zettler said. “The learning really happens when students get in group and reflect on the prompts.”

The class follows the Inside-Out Center’s national guidelines and rules, which include the use of semi-anonymity. Students only know each other by their first name or a chosen name. Inside students don’t share why they’re incarcerated to ensure they’re seen as people.

“You don’t need to know everything about a person to get to know a person,” Zettler said.

The course is open to juniors and seniors at UNT. Many of those who apply are criminal justice majors like Shianne.

“I’ve learned of some different practices that can help rehabilitate [rather] than just punish,” Shianne said of her time in the Inside-Out program.

She wants to be a defense attorney.

“If we can rehabilitate more and help people with re-entry, they won’t have to feel the same pain I’ve had to feel my whole life,” Shianne said.

Shianne graduates in spring 2025. At the time of the Inside-Out closing ceremony in December, she had been accepted to four law schools but had not yet decided where to enroll.