Henry D. Shannon, Ph.D., Superintendent/ President: In my career, I've attended more than 100
graduation ceremonies.
Some are the same.
Others are a bit unique.
All are emotional and beautiful.
If I had to tell you the most beautiful commencement
ceremony I have seen, I would say
it would have to be one of our Turning Point graduations.
Since its inception, more than 3,000 courses
have been taken by men and women who
are spending time in prison, learning and improving
themselves for the day when they are
able to return to our communities
and work for us again.
At Chaffey College, we have awarded approximately 170
degrees and certificates to Turning Point students.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
MICHELLE PAYNE: My name is Michelle Payne.
I'm 42 years old, and I'm a single mother.
I attended college at UC Riverside from 1995 till 1998.
My first year at UCR went pretty strong.
My grades were OK.
My second year, I got in kind of a party life.
I wasn't attending class on a regular.
I thought I was above it, and I let that overconfidence really
destroy me.
After I got dismissed from the university in 1998,
I went back home, and I started making bad choices.
I was partying more, and it was kind of depressing for me.
I made choices, and somebody lost their life
due to the choices that I made, so I felt like a failure.
I felt ashamed.
I felt guilt.
I knew somewhere in me that there was good
and that I was capable of doing so.
Chaffey College gave me that platform inside the prison
setting, and it really helped me change my mindset.
It might not seem like much, but just getting a A back
on a essay, the small accomplishments
is what helped me build my confidence back up.
If it wasn't from the Turning Point program at Chaffey
College, I wouldn't have known how much of an impact
that I could make for myself and other people.
I paroled July 27, 2015, and at that point,
I came back to Chaffey College.
I received my AS in accounting, and I
was able to transfer to Cal State San Bernardino.
I just graduated with a bachelor's in administration
concentration in accounting, and I'm also
in my master's program for accounting.
I got offered a position as a associate auditor
in a local CPA firm, and I've accepted that position.
Turning Point is that catalyst that can help a person
see the good in themselves, to see
that they're capable of accomplishing things.
People are coming out from incarceration
with degrees because of the Turning Point program.
So I would say please, keep investing in the program.
Keep investing in mothers and husbands
and fathers and sisters and brothers.
People can change, and the support
that the EOPS counselors show, the Turning Point program,
the Chaffey College on-campus students sending planners
in to the women, those little planners
meant the world to a participant in the Turning Point program.
I couldn't wait to get my day planner
to fill it with my little stickers in the back.
I could put it on my calendar knowing I have an exam.
I felt like a student.
I felt like I was a Panther.