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Formerly incarcerated student credits prison college and mentorship for career turnaround
Summary
At the Untapped Talent Summit, Jared Campbell described how prison-based college courses and a legislator mentorship helped him enroll at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and land a software-engineering job; Tennessee’s model and related laws were presented as examples Louisiana could adapt.
Jared Campbell, a program participant in Tennessee’s prison college initiative, told attendees at the Untapped Talent Summit that institutional education and hands-on mentorship were decisive in his transition from incarceration to stable employment.
Campbell recounted earning an associate degree while incarcerated, applying to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga after release and being rejected at first. “I applied, and I was immediately rejected from the university,” Campbell said. He described how a legislator who had mentored him intervened with university and system leaders to resolve the case and secure his enrollment.
Why it matters: the Tennessee example presented at the summit links in-prison education, active mentorship and legislative follow-through—lessons Louisiana leaders said they will study. Former state representative Michael Curcio, who recounted touring the Turney Center and later sponsoring reentry legislation, described how the Volunteer Mentorship Initiative and subsequent laws helped create pathways from coursework inside facilities to work after release.
Tennessee policy context: Curcio told the audience his legislative work included the 2021 Reentry Success Act and employer liability protections aimed at reducing employers’ legal concerns when hiring people with criminal records. “We removed that fear from employers,” Curcio said, describing liability shields and certificates of education used to encourage hiring.
Campbell’s outcome: after enrolling at UT Chattanooga, Campbell completed computer-science coursework, interned with industry partners and later took a full-time software-engineering role; an earlier verbal offer from FedEx was rescinded because of a background check, he said, but he subsequently accepted an internship and then employment at Shaw Industries.
Panel takeaway: summit speakers presented the Tennessee story as a practical model—one that combines education, mentorship and administrative problem‑solving—to be adapted in Louisiana. Summit participants urged early liaison among corrections, higher-education leaders and employers so that diplomas and credentials translate into real job offers.
Campbell’s account and Curcio’s legislative overview closed with a consistent message: education inside correctional facilities can change trajectories when backed by deliberate mentorship and policy changes that remove hiring barriers.
