My name is Luke Keller. I am a first-time offender serving a 437-month sentence that is drug and gun-related. I was diagnosed with ADHD at a young age. I struggled with impulse control and did very poorly in school. I started using drugs in my early teens. I started dealing drugs to support my habit and it spiraled out of control when I started using hard drugs. My mother passed away when I was 17 and I was never able to get my life stabilized. I was too focused on my addiction and stayed close to friends who also suffered from addiction, and stayed away from my family who all would have helped me given the chance. All that being said I haven’t wasted a day of my incarceration. I decided early on as I sat in a Maximum security prison that I wanted to change my life. I haven’t looked back since. I refuse to be defined by the worst decisions in my life. I strive to learn something new every day. I have completed 5 VT certificates, 2 Dept of Labor Apprenticeships, and have around 16,000 hours of programming. I believe that having a creative outlet for our energy helps keep us out of trouble and drama while in prison. I have created habits that will stay with me. Such as thinking of others before myself. My crimes and addiction were self-centered. I had a false sense of entitlement which I shed as I grew up and changed during my incarceration in my quest for personal growth. Positive energy and pursuits attract positive-minded people. That is why I choose to work in Culinary Arts as a tutor and gardener, and the Leather Instructor in Recreation. I also volunteer as the point person for Project Teddy Bear. FCI Sandstone has partnered with Dr. Shlafer and her students from the University of Minnesota on the Ronald McDonald House Community service program called “Project Teddy Bear”(Star Tribune, 7/9/23 Project Teddy Bear). Dr. Shlafer and her students collect yarn and bring it to FCI Sandstone and we volunteer our time to crochet and knit all sorts of things like stuffed animals, hats, scarfs blankets, etc… to be donated to the sick kids during their stay at the Ronald McDonald House as they get treatment at the Children’s Hospital. I sort and distribute all the yarn and collect the finished projects. I enjoy participating in this program because it gives me the opportunity to think of others and brighten a sick child’s day as they go through treatment at the Children’s Hospital. This means a lot to all the guys who participate in the program. A lot of us are in prison because we prioritized our own selfish interests, so by participating in a program that focuses on empathy, guys are given a different perspective on life and what it means to be a contributing member of a community. I am also on the Reentry Committee here in Sandstone. We’re always looking for ways to encourage a person to change. For some people, Project Teddy Bear may be the catalyst of that change, and I’m grateful to be a part of that. I am one of the core members of the Reentry Committee. We focus on skills that will serve recently released individuals well upon release. Also, these same skills are transferable to life in general. Especially navigating day-to-day prison life and learning new habits and ways to cope with other stresses. Thank you for taking the time to read this! Sincerely, Luke Keller
