Yesterday, we had a very positive day with our Training Seminar for the Peer Success Team. The day started off with going to the Chapel for our Guest Speaker which was Michael Santos! At around 9:00am he walked into the room and you could feel the good vibes all around. He had a great big smile and just this genuine good presence about him. I really enjoyed the talk he gave us because everything he spoke about was in line with what he writes about in his books. He talked to us about his journey through the prison system, some of the difficulties he faced, and some of the things he did to prepare for success. What worked for him and in turn can work for us if we work everyday to achieve success. I liked that he isn’t someone who thinks he knows it all. He seems very humble and down to earth. He showed genuine care and respect for us as women and just encouraged us. I liked that he is someone we can relate to because he has been in our place. He is someone who was in prison for a lengthy sentence and did the necessary work to guarantee his success upon release. I love the work he is doing to try to change laws and help bring more incentives to prisons for doing things with excellence. After the talk I 100% support his work and all the positive things he is trying to do. I love that he is walking the walk. That he isn’t just talking about it but putting action behind it. He was able to get out of prison make a living and still help his community and try to improve United States prisons as a whole, that is very commendable work. He truly found his life purpose and it really inspired me to work on defining exactly the type of life I would like to live. I started reading Michael’s books a couple months ago and until that time I thought I had everything figured out. Where I would live and how I would make a living. Now that I have read his books, reflected on the reading, and working the program. I am truly shifting my mindset on re-entry I have realized I need a much more defined plan of action. I know I have lots of skills and training but I want to do much more within society I want to really define in which ways I will help my community in a positive way inside and out of prison. I too like Michael do not want to be remembered as just a Drug Dealer. After listening to Michael’s talk yesterday I know I have to start today. I have to define my life’s path. Thank you Michael for coming to talk to us yesterday I found a lot of inspiration and motivation in your talk. I will continue to work on positive things. I want to encourage more people to join Prison Professors and I hope that like you I can one day be able to help women achieve their goals in a positive way.
