UCLA - University of California - Los Angeles
10/12/2026 | News release | Distributed by Public on 10/12/2026 19:29
'Bruin Stories': The Prison Education Program at UCLA
Higher education offers students the opportunity to learn in life-changing courses - and from one another's diverse perspectives.
UCLA's Prison Education Program (PEP) offers incarcerated ("inside") students and non-incarcerated ("outside") students opportunities to further their education together in the classroom and through additional programming.
In the first episode of the UCLA College's podcast series "Bruin Stories: The Power of Higher Education," two students share their experiences with PEP. One inside student, Ashley "ATL" Tate, shares how the program simultaneously nurtured her poetry talents and dreams of pursuing a bachelor's degree.
"It gives me a second chance at higher education," she said. "I think that's one of the most important things for anybody's future. Education is key."
Nikolas Opolyar-Warren, a second-year student at UCLA studying political science and history and a student assistant with the UCLA Prison Education Program and Center for Justice, is gaining both work and classroom experience with PEP.
"PEP is something I would recommend to everybody," Opolyar-Warren said, "not just because of the connections you're making, but because of what you realize about yourself and what it means to be a student."
The UCLA College is where the future is being created, one student at a time. As they shape that future in their own unique ways, hear directly from UCLA College students who are writing their own life-changing "Bruin Stories."
UCLA - University of California - Los Angeles published this content on October 12, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on October 13, 2026 at 01:30 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]