WIEA is proud to announce the graduation of the 2022 graduating class of Trinity University - Waupun Correctional Extension site! This year we had ten graduates, nine of which graduated with honors. It was a day of great celebration. It was clear to see the pride on the graduates' faces as well as their loved ones who were able to come celebrate in their great achievements that day. The student speaker turned to his classmates and said, "Our education means nothing if we don’t apply it. While it will be great using it for ourselves, we maximize it by sharing it with someone else. I implore you to be who I have seen you become these last four years. Patient, good listeners, critical thinkers, caregivers, supporters, brothers. We have been given a gift." Since graduation, five of the students from the 2022 class have been sent to other locations where they will have an opportunity to be a light to others and use the training they received while a student. (Click the above picture to watch a news story from this year's graduation.)
Dean of Students Robin Knoll has been able to visit all the 2021 graduates at the various institutions they were transferred to following graduation in 2021. The Wisconsin Department of Corrections gave Robin permission to visit these students up to six times per year to stay in touch and see if there is anything we can be doing for them. To date, our graduates are working as Tutors, Chapel Clerks, Library Clerks, and lead positions in Food Service departments. Additionally, many of the graduates report that they regularly run or participate in group care sessions addressing personal issues including family and general life challenges. It is a beautiful thing to watch the influence of the graduates spread throughout the state and effect positive change. It is important to WIEA that we support all of our graduates and current students. In fact, next week we will be hosting a Forgiveness Workshop for all of our current students as well as all of the program's Alumni who are still housed at Waupun.
We’re looking ahead to the fall and the start of a new school term. We covet your prayers as we prepare to welcome a new class of students to the program.
Thank you for your continued prayer, partnership, and generosity. Specific prayer requests:
Pray that the individual visits with our graduates go well and are an encouragement to them.
Pray for our Freshman class as they start classes soon.
Pray for the upcoming gala. May it be a night of celebration with our partners and friends.
Pray for opportunities for WIEA to share with others about the transformation happening in the lives our program touches.
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