MCTC celebrates EKCC grads at local ceremony

Published on Jul 18, 2024

By Megan Smedley

Several Maysville Community & Technical College employees visited the Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex last month to celebrate the success of students who completed their associate’s degrees through the college.

The graduation ceremony, held June 7, saw eleven incarcerated students walk across the state to accept their credential. Of those eleven, seven students received dual degrees.

During the ceremony, Dr. Laura McCullough, MCTC president/CEO, expressed her pride in the students and for their commitment to achieving this milestone despite the hardships they had experienced.

“I want you to know that you are the definition of a self-determined miracle,” she said. “Your lives are changed because you changed them.

Also providing remarks was Kentucky Community and Technical College System’s Special Assistant for Strategic Partnerships, Derrick Ramsey.

Ramsey spoke briefly about his time in the NFL and how a visit to San Quentin State Prison in California sparked his interest in prison education.

“All of us have made mistakes,” he said. “We look forward to having you come out and be a contributing member of society and our Commonwealth.”

Ramsay told the graduates that he is working with KCTCS to be a forerunner in second chance opportunities for individuals upon release.

“I want to you know that people care about you,” he said. “There are people who want to help you and people who want to see you succeed.”

This is the largest graduating class since the college revamped the program in response to the pandemic.

"This is huge for the KCTCS system, the KYDOC and the state of Kentucky as a whole,” said Joshua Gilliam, the college’s most recent Director of Correctional Education & Enrollment Management. "Research has supported that education can help address recidivism and that is what we're here to do."

The college currently has 74 students enrolled in classes for the Summer 2024 term.

MCTC has partnered with Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex in Morgan County for over twenty years, providing an education to one of the nation's most vulnerable populations. College courses are offered to incarcerated students completely online, with most classes taught by full-time MCTC faculty.

“We are so proud of our students and their hard work in earning this achievement,” said Amber Skaggs, Department of Corrections Education Director. “We are also grateful for our partnership with Maysville Community and Technical College to offer our residents the opportunity for postsecondary education.”