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MLK Jr. Commemoration Event: Incarceration to Transformation
Keynote speaker Darryl Byers-Robinson shares his story; Monika Brandon ’25 receives Mavis McKenley ’11 award
University News | January 23, 2025
The Robert Nusbaum Center hosted “Incarceration to Transformation: Education as a Catalyst for Change” in Brock Commons as part of VWU’s week-long tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. President Scott D. Miller welcomed participants and introduced the program for the event.
“On this special day, as we honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we celebrate a student whose dedication to justice and education exemplifies Dr. King’s ideals by awarding her the University’s annual Mavis McKenley ’11 Award. We will also learn about Virginia Wesleyan’s groundbreaking collaboration with the Urban League of Hampton Roads that will take degree programs to people behind bars, and then we’ll hear the transformational story of someone who earned a bachelor’s degree while in prison.”
President Miller announced the recipient of the 2025 Mavis McKenley ’11 Award, named for Board of Trustees member and alumna Mavis McKenley. Senior Monika Brandon ’25, who is majoring in Allied Health, received the award which recognizes students who exemplify courage and conviction in valuing differences, commitment to seeing beyond borders by building inclusion, compassion for humanity, and commitment to social change.
“As a work-study student with Wesleyan Engaged, Monika has actively participated in a variety of service events, impacting both the campus and the broader Coastal Virginia community,” noted Bethany Smeeton, director of civic engagement and service learning. “She is the first to sign up for volunteer opportunities and her actions inspire others to make a difference in their community. From campus clean-ups to creating wildflower seed bombs for Hoffler Creek and volunteering to help clean the living quarters of the USS Wisconsin, Monika consistently steps out of her comfort zone. Her actions are a testament to her strength, leadership, and commitment to creating positive change in the lives of others.”
Dr. Sue Larkin, Virginia Wesleyan’s Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and President & CEO of the Urban League of Hampton Roads Gilbert Bland were then invited to share highlights of the establishment of Virginia Wesleyan’s Center for Urban Leadership Education. The Center houses the Incarcerated Persons ReEntry Program which was formed in collaboration with the Urban League of Hampton Roads and the Virginia Department of Corrections. It will offer university courses and degree programs to incarcerated individuals at St. Brides and Indian Creek Correctional Facilities in Chesapeake, VA. VWU is the first four-year institution in Virginia to take a bachelor's degree program to people behind prison walls. Dr. Larkin and Mr. Bland provided information on how this collaboration will change lives and create opportunities for those transitioning out of incarceration. Classes in the program are scheduled to begin this spring.
Dr. Larkin then introduced the keynote speaker Darryl Byers-Robinson who shared his experiences as an incarcerated individual who earned his bachelor’s degree.
While serving time at the Eastern New York Correctional Facility, Byers-Robinson chose to participate in the Bard Prison Initiative (BPI) and it changed his life forever. During his schooling, he became a founding member of the BPI Debate Team. This group of inmates not only took part in debates with nationally renowned universities, they beat them. In 2015, Daryl’s team defeated Harvard University. His journey, along with those of several others incarcerated at the time, are featured in Ken Burns’ and Lynn Novick’s award-winning documentary “College Behind Bars," available on PBS. As a criminal justice advocate, Byers-Robinson is a frequent public speaker, traveling across the country speaking to students, communities, legislators and at conferences supporting prison education reform. He currently serves as site coordinator for the Georgetown University College of Arts & Sciences Prison and Justice Initiative at the Patuxent Institution, a prison in Jessup, Maryland.
Byers-Robinson spoke about “identity” and life in prison, as well as the program that offered him a path forward.
“I come today as the identity of all those this college will touch,” said Byers-Robinson. “Transformation from inmate to college student is a dramatic thing. Finding change in that space (prison) is hard; there is no fluidity in it. People in prison are seen as invisible.”
He noted that the Bard Prison Imitiative changed that for him and others in the program.
“Now when I come home, I have a space to come home to. Recidivism is the same old, same old. But, when you come out of prison as a college graduate, there’s a new vibrancy to your life. I am someone. I can do things and be something myself. Thank you for doing this—it’s an amazing thing and it will change lives!”