Students and inmates at the Sullivan County House of Corrections, in Unity, will perform alongside each other tonight in a culminating production for this spring’s “Telling My Story” program. The program brings together members of a women’s and gender studies class with inmates to plan and perform a show highlighting inmates’ voices.
For the past several years women’s and gender studies professor Pati Hernandez has taught “Telling Stories for Social Change,” a community-based learning course at the College.
Members of this spring’s 12-person class visited the Sullivan County House of Corrections once a week to participate in a performance program that encourages collaboration, self-reflection and breaking stereotypes.
This term has been special, Hernandez said, because it is the first time she has collaborated with female inmates since 2010.
Both undergraduates and Masters of Arts in Liberal Studies students can enroll in the course, which also meets once a week for traditional classroom learning about issues related to incarceration in the U.S.
Having three MALS students in the class creates a greater diversity of viewpoints, Hernandez said.
“It is not just a class, it is a multi-dimensional, multi-experiential process that ‘sticks,’” said Jesse Perez, a MALS student enrolled in the class this term.
Of five past and present students interviewed, all praised the course as a meaningful learning experience.
Perez said that after taking the course, he feels equipped with the tools to better understand how individuals judge themselves and one another.
“It redefines what a classroom could be — and who you can learn something from,” Krystyna Oszkinis ’14 said.
Teaching assistant Morgan Curtis ’14, who took the course last fall, said the class seeks to build understanding and camaraderie among people who superficially do not share much in common. Though the class could be interpreted as a form of community service, Curtis said, it is very much “reciprocal,” as students reap as many benefits as the inmates.
Curtis said the experience forced her to reflect on human interactions and “how much we deliberately invest in different relationships.”
Maeve Lentricchia ’17, who took the class in the fall, said she found both the class and final performance impressive and emotional.
“I find myself trying to rationalize the feelings of my unanalyzed experience to move forward,” Lentricchia said. “Where am I now? And what can I do to move forward? I will find out.”
The class has become immensely popular, often filling to capacity and garnering a wait list, in part due to the “incredibly positive” experiences of previous students, said Sutton Higgins ’15, who took the class in spring 2012. The class, she said, taught her to relate to people of different backgrounds and question issues related to class and privilege.
Hernandez began what would be come the “Telling My Story” program in 1995 as a literacy and theater program for Latin American women in Manhattan, according to the program’s website. After moving to Vermont in 1999, she expanded the program to serve inmates, rehabilitation patients, parolees and domestic violence survivors.
In 2008,Telling My Storybecame a nonprofit organization.
Higgins, who serves on the organization’s board of directors, said the nonprofit allows Hernandez’s work to impact spheres outside the classroom.
The program is part of the Tucker Foundation’s “Prison Project,” said Stacia Burd, Tucker’s volunteer coordinator for local service. The project, which includes creative writing, job re-entry, recreation and video programs in addition to “Telling My Story,” aims to increase services to Upper Valley inmates, Burd said.
Volunteers must commit two to three hours per week at the prison in addition to training and evaluation meetings.
Tucker volunteers can also attend weekly creative writing classes and a new monthly dinner program at Dismas House, a residence for former prisoners transitioning back to their communities, Burd said.
“Telling My Story” performances, which are open to the public, will take place at the Sullivan County House of Corrections at 6 p.m. tonight and Friday.
