What it’s like to graduate from college while inside an Illinois prison

What it’s like to graduate from college while inside an Illinois prison

In many ways, it looked like any college graduation. There were balloons, flowers and squares of frosted marble cake. Rows of family and friends faced a lectern in the fluorescent-lit gymnasium.But the uniformed guards patrolling the gym underscored that this was no ordinary commencement. It was the first of its kind to take place inside the East Moline Correctional Center, a minimum-security men’s prison on the Illinois-Iowa border about two an…

From street vendor to graduate

For nine years, Rashina Samalani has been a street vendor fending for herself to survive. Regardless of such a tough life, she still pursued her goals, and now she can brag about being a graduate. But what is her story? Our News Analyst Lloyd Chitsulo, writes;  Life has been nothing but a struggle for Rashina Samalani, 25, who since 2016 has been selling second-hand boxers and slippers on the streets for survival. But despite going through such …