Prison to a four-year degree: Formerly incarcerated student starts new program
By Perla Shaheen
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SAN DIEGO, California (KGTV) — Calculus doesn’t come easy to Leslie Esparza, but it’s a small barrier on her journey to get a degree. More problematic than her studies is her criminal record.
“My mistake was to tell the wrong person about my financial struggles,” Esparza said. “They told me, like, it’s just one time it’s going to help you pay off your school loans.”
Esparza was arrested in 2016 for possession of drugs and sent to Las Colinas Prison.
“For sure, it does change your mindset,” Esparza said.
After one year in a jumpsuit, Esparza started taking classes in prison.
“The professors kept telling me, ‘Leslie, you’re college material.’ I got excited, and I thought, maybe this is something I can do,” Esparza said.
When she was released, she called a counselor with Grossmont College to see if she could enroll. The college introduced her to Yohany Corona-Batalona. Together, they helped launch the Justice Scholars Program, designed to help formerly incarcerated students.
“The main goal is to create that safe space where they feel heard and valued. There’s so many barriers that they can just decide, never mind,” Corona-Batalona said.
The program also provides peer mentorship, workshops, and grants for school supplies. Esparza was the first student to join three years ago. Now there’s a total of 58 enrolled students.
“If she wasn’t there to help me, I would’ve given up,” Esparza said. “Sometimes, I was dealing with something emotional, and I would call her. And she would listen to me.”
As a first-generation college student, Esparza says she never saw herself getting a degree. But she’s about to finish her associate’s and just got into two CSU schools.
“You’ll realize that many of these students are very smart,” Esparza said. “They were just in the wrong place.”
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