Breakthrough: Class of 28 graduate from prison business program
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PUEBLO, Colo. — Donning a blue graduation cap and gown, Jael, a 32-year-old mother of three serving a 17-year sentence, stepped up to address her classmates and fellow graduates in the gym at La Vista Correctional Facility.
Jael is one of 28 incarcerated participants who celebrated their graduation last week from Breakthrough’s Challenge program, an eight-month business entrepreneurship program for incarcerated people in Colorado.
The program encourages participants to only share their first names so they are judged on their actions in the program, not on their mistakes in the past.
Rocky Mountain PBS has been following this cohort of participants throughout the program. In February, 38 students began the session that ended with Jael’s graduation speech.
“We've been building confidence, building endurance, building grit,” Jael said to the crowd. “Our first step developing was the soft skills program. We learned integrity. We learned how to center ourselves and empathy.
“Then we went into that career readiness segment. Now we can show employers that one felon does not represent all felons.”
Behind the rows of caps and tassels, Jael’s family — her husband, mom and three children — sat together, holding handmade signs of support. They traveled from Detroit to be there.
“I want my daughters to want to emulate their mother,” Jael said to Rocky Mountain PBS.
“Although they know in the back of their head, my mom's in prison, they can see what I'm doing in here and they can say, this isn't what I see on TV.”
All of the events hosted by the program — the kickoff event, mock interview day and business pitch bootcamp — welcome volunteers from the community to join. The graduation event is the first time families, along with volunteers, get to attend and see the work that their loved one has put into the program.
Despite the distance, Jael’s family visits relatively often. Her son Grant, 13, and daughter Parker, 10, said they’ve visited their mom more than 20 times since she was sentenced two years ago.
This visit was special because they got to watch their mom present an “awesome” business pitch, meet her classmates and, of course, eat cake. Grant said he wasn’t surprised his mom’s classmates elected her class speaker.
“She's a leader,” Parker said. “She's a really smart woman.”
“A really intelligent woman and a really loving mother,” Grant added. “She’s my inspiration.”
Before the graduation ceremony, participants pitched the business plans they spent the last three months developing. When Rocky Mountain PBS last met with this cohort, they had just divided into five groups to work on their pitches.
Jael worked on developing the Prison Art Project, a platform to help incarcerated people receive commissions and sell their art to people in the community. Jael is passionate about her team’s idea because it gives incarcerated people another way to make money and be self-sufficient.
“The prison population, especially in the state of Colorado, we're not making a livable wage,” Jael said. “We wanted to be able to have that as an option.”
After the presentations, everyone, including participants, voted on their favorite pitch. Most participants voted for the Prison Art Project.
A different pitch — for caffeinated lollipops called Caffee Pops — received the most votes from volunteers, who assessed each presentation based on a rubric. Each member of the Caffee Pops team received $300 to put towards starting the business, re-entry costs or education.
Another group, led by participant Vanessa, pitched a mobile, trauma-informed massage company that would partner with healthcare clinics to reach patients. As a licensed massage therapist, Vanessa came up with the initial business idea that her team then developed for presentation.
“This has really revealed things in myself that I didn't even know, like leadership, communication, working with people,” Vanessa said. “All of those characteristics were in me and I didn't know it, and I wouldn't have known it if Breakthrough wasn't available here.”
Volunteer Madeleine Hardt said she was impressed with how detailed and informative the business pitches were. She attended several events with this cohort of participants, starting with the kickoff event in February.
“You can just see someone talking and be like, ‘I think I saw you talking previously, you seemed a lot more nervous. You seem more comfortable in your skin,’” Hardt said. “I can just tell the layers of confidence every week, every day.”
Vanessa’s parents couldn’t make it to the graduation event, but she said she might have been more nervous during her group’s presentation if they were there. Just telling her parents about the work that she’s done in the program is enough to make her feel proud.
“When I got sentenced it was such a dark cloud. It was like, what is the future going to hold?” Vanessa said. “I just know that my parents are going to be like, ‘There's our daughter making the most of every horrible situation, and turning things around and really putting her best foot forward.’”
Vanessa said she’d like to apply to be a peer facilitator with Breakthrough, so she can help future cohorts through the program while she’s incarcerated.
The program is designed to set participants up for career success after their release from prison. Though the commitment and community of the program still make it a beneficial experience for participants serving life sentences.
Participants develop soft skills, like public speaking and problem solving, workshop their resumes and interviewing techniques and learn what to consider when developing a business plan.
After their release, Breakthrough graduates receive re-entry support to help them maintain employment while navigating their return to community. Breakthrough staff help connect them with housing, transportation and healthcare, among other resources.
Jael’s next parole hearing is set for February 2029. She’s enrolled in Trinidad State College's Second Chance Pell program and is currently earning an associate’s degree in psychology.
When she’s released, Jael wants to be an entrepreneur and contribute to prison reform. She’d like to be remembered as an advocate for financial literacy.
As Jael and her classmates ceremoniously moved their tassels from right to left, they closed this chapter of their education behind bars better prepared to tackle whatever comes next.
“Success is still a success. And a celebration is still a celebration regardless of where you are, prison and all,” Jael said.
“I won't let the mistakes define who I am. I definitely have to keep fighting daily for my legacy, and I'm just really glad that I was able to have this experience.”