01/15/2025 | News release | Distributed by Public on 01/15/2025 09:05
Every year, thousands of university students celebrate the culmination of their collegiate studies by walking across a stage as family and friends proudly watch and cheer. At the University of Houston-Clear Lake, this celebration includes a unique group of individuals transforming their future through education. This year, UHCL welcomed 31 graduates from its Transforming Lives by Degrees (TLD) program into its 81,000-strong alumni network.
The TLD program, directed by Dr. William P. Powers and housed in the College of Human Sciences and Humanities (HSH), is a partnership between UHCL and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's W.F. Ramsey Unit in Rosharon, TX. The program offers incarcerated individuals the opportunity to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities, a Bachelor of Science in Behavioral Sciences, or even a Master of Arts in Humanities.
The TLD ceremony was held on Saturday, November 9, 2024, at the Springfellow Prison Unit in Rosharon, TX, with dozens of family members, friends, faculty, and staff in attendance. This biannual service commonly stirs a range of emotions, both for the graduates and those in the crowd, and this year's event was no exception.
"The ceremony was as beautiful and meaningful as always with students walking up to the stage to receive their degrees and shake hands with the president, provost, and dean of our college while their loved ones, faculty and staff watched in rapt attention the chapel," said Dr. Shreerekha Pillai, humanities professor and Associate Dean of the College of HSH. "I had the high honor of reading the names of our graduates, which was very moving as they walked up to the stage. The chapel was filled with tremendous joy and a positive feeling as the Alvin and UHCL teams congratulated the students."