Ignorance Interrupted--Motivated to Change through Education

 I met Dustin about seven years ago when I started my education journey in prison. I had decided to finish my college degree, and Dustin was a part of the same prison educational community. I only knew him through our college prep classes, so I did not know that education was a recent endeavor for him. Just a year or two before, Bruce, who had also encouraged me to pursue college in prison, had motivated Dustin to pursue a new path. He had formerly been involved in prison violence, which kept landing him in trouble. After Bruce urged him to spend his energy in positive ways, Dustin began investing in his future, and following Bruce's example, he invested in others too. Today, Dustin is a college graduate who mentors other prisoners, continuing to invest in others and himself. He's also a fellow English nerd like me, and my main Scrabble opponent.

Dustin grew up in a "normal" middle class family on the East side of Michigan. He was an averge student in school with decent friends, but he felt drawn to bad influences. He wanted to be a "gangster," so he smoked weed and gravitated towards a "rough crowd." In 2000 at seventeen year old, he stole a gun from a family friend, and while playing with it and showing it off, he accidentally shot and killed his younger sister. The authorities did not believe it was an accident because as a scared kid, Dustin lied about what happened and tried to cover it up. Consequently, he was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 27 years in prison. He is grateful that despite losing both of her children, one to death and the other to prison, his mother remained his rock, showing him unconditional love, until she died ten years ago. 

Although he fears society will stigmatize him for killing a sibling, even accidentally, he is committed to honoring his sister with his life. His goal is to be the best person he can be, to be a positive influence in the world, and to take every opportunity to pay forward all the undeserved blessings he has received. Dustin is very busy, involved in many positive things, but he reminds himself of the advice he'd give his younger self: slow down and do things right the first time. He says the greatest blessings he experiences always follow his own investment in other people's lives. It's a lesson he learned from Bruce, and from complete strangers, Victor and Mary, who took an interest in him and sponsored his early college education and continue to support his pursuit of a better way of living. 

When Dustin started down the education path, he started reading classics written by philosophers and other great thinkers. These books influenced him to think deeply and to be formed by the ideas he was exposed to in these books. Although he still struggles with the idea of "religion," Dustin finds the Christian virtue ethics inspiring and transformational. In fact, a theology class on spiritual disciplines was one of his favorite college classes, along with psychology, social work interviewing, English literature, and political science. He says that without education, he'd still be the blind leading the blind. "Education," he claims, "gives people the impetus to change." Nevertheless, he acknowledges that someone has to first want to change. 

Prison is dehumanizing, stripping people of nearly everything that makes them human. But good, decent people can be found in prison, too. Dustin's own journey was influenced by Bruce, and others, who encouraged a new, positive focus. And today, Dustin pays it forward, encouraging others to grow, to invest in their lives through education and moral development. His future likely involves earning a master's degree, continuing to work hard for success, and still investing greatly in the lives of others. For Dustin, paying it forward is the best way to say "thank-you" to those who have blessed him beyond what he believes he deserves.