Victories are few and far between for those who are in prison. Other than guards, only close family and friends really know the true person behind the steel doors. Their self-worth is often diminished, and life can lack purpose.

“After a while you get used to being looked at and treated differently than everyone else,” inmate CJ said.

CJ is incarcerated at Bridgeport Correctional Center in North Texas. He is heavily involved in the Inside-Out Prison Exchange program offered in partnership with the University of North Texas. CJ is proud to share that he was one of the "inside" students to complete the very first semester ever offered in the State of Texas. That was back in the fall 2022 semester.

RELATED: Pursuit Unlimited: Exchange program gives UNT students chance to learn the legal system from inside a prison

“Being able to engage with someone that wanted to work in the criminal justice field treat me, like a human being, and value my opinions, value my thoughts regardless of the location we were standing in — that was nice,” CJ said.

In December, CJ was celebrating another successful semester of the Inside-Out Program at Bridgeport. Inside students and UNT, or outside, students were celebrated for completing the course. Family and friends were invited into the correctional facility to be with their loved ones. CJ remains involved with the Inside-Out program as a member of the think tank named Restoration and Reentry Alliance.

“They help us also recruit and try to find really motivated candidates,” Dr. Haley Zettler said.

Zettler leads the program at UNT. She says incarcerated people interested in taking the class must have a high school diploma or GED. Like outside students, the inside students must fill out an application, write an essay and complete an interview.

“The opportunity to take a college class is not commonplace, unfortunately, in a lot of our facilities, and here at Bridgeport they didn’t have anything beyond adult education or GED programs,” Zettler said.

Every evening the class meets during the semester, the inside students are challenged the same as outside students. 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.

“We really want to take that three hours to interact with one another as humans and on an equal playing field,” Zettler said.

At the closing ceremony, CJ performed an original song with some of his peers. The song was written by a fellow inside student who participated in the first Inside-Out semester with him.

CJ says the program’s impact has been life-changing for some of those incarcerated at Bridgeport. They look forward to pursing higher education once they are released.

“Now they know they’re worth that,” CJ said. “It gives that sense of self-worth back.”

Zettler added that enrolling in the program also helps inside students with soft skills like communication. People incarcerated at Bridgeport are closer to release than most people in other state facilities.

“These people will be getting back out in our communities,” Zettler said. “They will be your neighbors. They will be people you come into contact with, and this just allows so much growth on both sides that isn’t present in our traditional higher ed programs in the state.”

CJ says he’s changed his 10-year plan after finishing the course. He now plans to stay involved with the Inside-Out program as part of his re-entry into society.