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Alumni News |  |
Released from Fishkill Correctional Facility on June 28th, Hudson Link student Julius Walker visited our offices on July 6th and received a laptop computer through our Re-entry Support Program.
Julius is less than 30 credits away from graduating with a B.S. degree in Organizational Management from Nyack College and is committed to finishing his education now that he has been released. He is also actively looking for employment in the social services field.
Wasting no time in paying it forward, Julius joined Sean Pica and other Hudson Link alumni last Monday to speak with students at PS 169 - Robert F. Kennedy School in Manhattan. Word has it that the kids were blown away by his story. 
Congratulations and welcome home to Hudson Link/Mercy College alumni Clarence Maclin and Lynnard Biggs. Both men stopped by the Hudson Link offices soon after their release to meet with Executive Director Sean Pica, and take advantage of our clothing boutique in preparation for job-search activities.
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Summer Semester: Persistence 101
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Greetings!
Times are tough, but thanks to a generous grant, Hudson Link was able to offer classes this summer at each of the 4 correctional facilities where we run our college programs.
With class choices from accounting and music appreciation, to remedial math and English, we are happy to report that our students were able to advance in their academic pursuits this summer!
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News from our partner college
 Many congratulations to Dr. Michael G. Scales for being re-elected to a third term as Nyack College President.
Hudson Link is ever-grateful to Nyack College and President Scales for their continuing support, partnership and dedication in providing life-changing education to those incarcerated.
Nyack College and Hudson Link students and alumni are fortunate to have such a strong leader, visionary and role model.
Read the press release from Nyack College.
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Alumni reach out to youth
Last Monday, as part of our Alumni Youth Assistance Program, Sean Pica and Hudson Link alumni Marvin Ramos, Danny Matos and Julius Walker spoke to students ranging in age from 13 to 18 at PS 169 Robert F. Kennedy School in Manhattan.
The theme was Life Choices and the discussion was centered around criminal behavior, the struggles of peer and gang pressure, the pressure to survive in adverse conditions, the consequences of poor choices and bad decisions and how education is the key to critical thinking and transforming their lives.
This is the second time, in the past 2 months, that Hudson Link alumni have spoken at PS 169 and it is part of their ongoing efforts to give back to their communities and to our youth.
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Coming Home Ministry
For many of our graduates, some of whom have been incarcerated throughout the digital and computer age, being released from prison is like trying to navigate a world of the future, where daily simple tasks such as using an ATM, checking email, and using a cell phone are unfamiliar and intimidating.
To assist with these challenges of re-integrating into society, Hudson Link partners with the Reformed Church of Bronxville and the Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness & Housing to sponsor the Coming Home Ministry Program. The program is an eighteen session life skills empowerment program that includes goal setting, workshops with mentoring, life skills sessions, and story sharing in a supportive environment. To learn more about this important program, read an article written by Dawn Ravella, the Director of Mission and Outreach at Reformed Church of Bronxville, and watch Opening Doors, a documentary she created to illuminate some of the problems with our criminal justice system and introduce the Coming Home Program. |
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Rising from the ashes
 Jerry Balone, friend of Hudson Link and NYTS graduate, visited Hudson Link's offices on July 19th with copies of his new book, Rising From the Ashes, which chronicles his life as "a killer, a convict who survived over 37 years in 17 prisons, and a man who beat the odds".
The book highlights how education became the doorway to his own personal change and trans-formation. Balone developed a thirst for books and knowledge when given the opportunity to attend college classes while in prison. That education changed him and pushed him toward intellectual and spiritual pursuits. "I owe it all to my prison education," he says. It is a story of redemption that ends with a desire to help others from following the same self-destructive and damaging path he took. Balone, released in 2007, now spends his time as a motivational speaker and mentor to youth.
The self-published book Rising from the Ashes is available on Amazon.com. |
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Stay tuned for more exciting news from Hudson Link and thank you for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Sean Pica Executive Director Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison |
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