Incarcerated offenders get second chance via TCC

A TCC graduate and offender holds his daughter at the 2010 TCC commencement at Dick Conner Correctional Facilty.

Incarcerated offenders leave prison with little more than the clothes on their backs, but TCC is giving them opportunities to take something else with them as they walk beyond the prison grounds: a college education. The TCC Corrections Education Program sends college professors into Dick Conner Correctional Facility and Turley Correctional Center so that offenders can earn college credits that lead to certificates of achievement and/or associate degrees.

Since 2007, more than 200 incarcerated students have earned college credits thanks to the TCC Corrections Education Program. This makes TCC No. 1 in the state for offering college classes in prisons. But not every eligible offender can take TCC classes because they can't afford tuition and books. So, TCC has established the Second Chance Scholarship to bridge the gap between available funds and college costs.

To raise more money so that more eligible offenders can take college classes, TCC will host the Second Chance Scholarship Dinner July 27 at the TCC Center for Creativity. Marion Jones, ex-offender and Tulsa Shock player, will be the featured speaker.

Related article from "Tulsa World."

Stats from the Oklahoma Literacy Resource Office

Buy tickets to Second Chance Scholarship Dinner: 918-595-7836.