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From Life Sentence to Life Calling
A self-centered life led Chris Bernaiche to a life sentence. After more than a decade of destructive behavior inside prison walls, he turned his life over to Christ. Now, through the Calvin Prison Initiative program, he's helping his peers find meaning in their lives.
March 26, 2024 | Matt Kucinski -
Student-Faculty Research Informs Prison Education Nationwide
In January 2023, then senior Emily Steen ’23 and her faculty adviser Mark Mulder, received The Hatfield Prize to conduct research on challenges faced by formerly incarcerated individuals upon reentry into society. This past week their research was published by the Center for Public Justice.
October 06, 2023 | Matt Kucinski -
Flipping the script unlocks stories of transformation
While Nate Roels started at Calvin in 2013 as a business major, he soon discovered a deeper passion for film and media. So, he flipped the script, switched his major to a minor and pursued filmmaking. Now, he has a documentary film making its debut on the big screen.
July 25, 2023 | Matt Kucinski -
Calvin University Turns Four
On July 10, 2019, Calvin changed its last name from "college" to "university." In just four years, a lot has happened to open the doors to a wider range of learners and to advance the reputation of the liberal arts school.
July 10, 2023 | Matt Kucinski -
Graduating from shame to honor
In 1994, Ming Ho made a fatal mistake that brought shame to his family and sent him to prison. Nearly three decades later, his mom and sister witnessed him becoming the first in his family to graduate from college.
May 13, 2023 | Matt Kucinski -
Calvin University 2023 grads reflect on earning bachelor's degree behind bars
Graduates from the Class of 2023 reflect on their experience earning a bachelor's degree from Calvin University behind bars. They talk about how the program shaped them and what they hope to do with their degree.
May 10, 2023 | Matt Kucinski -
Going Beyond the confines to discover community
Ken and James came into prison at the same time and shared a cell in county jail. Over the past decade, their journeys inside prison took very different paths, but God brought them back together through the Calvin Prison Initiative program. Now, they're creating a community unheard of inside prison walls.
April 06, 2023 | Matt Kucinski -
Equipped with the Tools to Build Behind Bars
In the Fall of 1987, Waddell Fisher in utter despair cried out to the Lord after he took a life. For the next 36 years God has used people and programs to equip Fisher with the tools to work for renewal behind bars.
January 31, 2023 | Matt Kucinski -
Discovering identity through community
Tim Baker is serving a life sentence for decisions he made to try and fit in. Now 20-plus years later through the Calvin Prison Initiative program, he's found the freedom to be himself and is accepted for who he is.
September 11, 2022 | Matt Kucinski -
Calvin Prison Initiative seen as national model for prison education
In late August, leaders of the U.S. Department of Education visited the Calvin Prison Initiative. Four hours later, they left inspired not just by stories of transformation, but by the strategic, thoughtful collaboration that is making CPI a national model to follow for prison education.
September 01, 2022 | Matt Kucinski -
U.S. Department of Education leaders to visit Calvin Prison Initiative program
On August 30, James Kvaal, Under Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, is coming to west Michigan to see how Second Chance Pell grants have impacted the Calvin Prison Initiative program. This is Kvaal's first prison first as Under Secretary.
August 26, 2022 | Matt Kucinski -
Calvin Remembers James Martrice Brown
A week after receiving his bachelor's degree inside Handlon Correctional Facility, James Martrice Brown suffered a stroke and died three days later. He's remembered by his classmates and professors as someone who was always looking out for others.
June 03, 2022 | Matt Kucinski -
Calvin University holds graduation ceremony behind bars
On Monday, May 9, 2022, 45 inmates will receive a bachelor's degree from Calvin University as part of a formal Commencement ceremony held inside Handlon Correctional Facility. This marks a first for the state of Michigan.
May 04, 2022 | Matt Kucinski -
An unimaginable adoption story born out of tragedy
Valmarcus Jones and Jerline Riley grew up in the same neighborhood. Their worlds collided in 1994 with tragic consequences. The way they have reunited is an unimaginable and beautiful story of redemption.
April 21, 2022 | Matt Kucinski -
I'll be home for Christmas
For the first time in 36 years, Ron Hammond, a student in the Calvin Prison Initiative program, will spend Christmas outside prison walls.
December 24, 2021 | Matt Kucinski -
When the numbers begin to fade
Since 2002, the Jubilee Fellows Program has helped Calvin University students discern a call to pastoral ministry. Now, that program extends to students at Handlon Correctional Facility.
November 24, 2021 | Matt Kucinski -
Calvin Prison Initiative grads reflect on education behind bars
Eleven graduates from the Class of 2020 and 2021 share about their experience in the Calvin Prison Initiative program, and how they plan to use their Calvin education to help communities flourish behind bars.
May 21, 2021 | Matt Kucinski -
When A Community Shapes You
When Michael went to jail in 1992 for second-degree murder, he felt his humanity had ended. Nearly three decades later, he testifies to how his Calvin community helped him see himself no longer as an agent of destruction, but rather as an agent of renewal.
January 22, 2021 | Matt Kucinski -
CPI students partner with local nonprofit; support victims of domestic violence
With the revenue brought in by their community garden, CPI students have been able to partner with and support Safe Haven Ministries, a local nonprofit dedicated to supporting domestic violence victims.
May 09, 2018 | Hannah Ebeling