The second class of formerly incarcerated individuals graduated with a certificate in paralegal studies Feb. 4 through a program at the Georgetown Prisons and Justice Initiative (PJI). 

The Mayor’s Office on Returning Citizen Affairs (MORCA) and Georgetown’s paralegal program, which launched in 2019 and is supported by the D.C. Department of Employment Services (DOES), consists of a 16-week intensive coursework certificate program followed by a one-year paid fellowship with law firms and employers in D.C.

The program provides returning citizens who were formerly incarcerated with opportunities for education and employment that would otherwise be unavailable to them, according to Marc Howard, PJI’s founding director.

“Returning citizens bring an incredible value to their communities and employers, but are so often overlooked or excluded without being given a chance,” Howard wrote in an email to The Hoya. “Returning citizens have personal experience, and often self-taught legal knowledge and skills, that can be an asset to employers, particularly in the legal field. This program aims to equip students with the formal training they need to open doors for themselves and to shift the policies and perceptions that hold returning citizens back.”

The program began in 2019 through a partnership between MORCA and DOES under the leadership of Brian Ferguson (COL ’18), who was the director of MORCA at the time and now serves as senior advisor to President John J. DeGioia (CAS ’79, GRD ’95).

Timothy Thomas, one of this year’s paralegal program graduates, previously worked as a law clerk in a federal penitentiary assisting other prisoners with research on their cases. His newly acquired paralegal certificate now provides him with a legitimate social credential in the industry, he said. 

“The paralegal profession allows me to think, research, discuss, and write on a heightened level of legal analysis, beyond what an attorney or jurist may currently know about a problem,” Thomas wrote in an email to The Hoya. “I want the opportunity to prepare the core issues involved in a case.”

Guy Redford, another graduate of this year’s paralegal program class, said that the program provided him with applicable knowledge about the legal system.

“The most valuable part of my studies within the program included gaining an overall understanding of the legal system and its basic everyday functions,” Redford wrote in an email to The Hoya. “Understanding the law as written, how to apply the law, and the responsibility to ensure the law is carried out.”

The paralegal program is one of four programs at PJI, alongside the Prison Scholars Program, which is a for-credit program at the D.C. jail that offers courses to currently incarcerated people. 

The Pivot Program, which was founded at PJI three years ago, gives formerly incarcerated individuals the opportunity to earn a non-credit certificate in business and entrepreneurship. 

The Making an Exoneree program is an undergraduate course at Georgetown where students release documentaries advocating for the exoneration of prisoners who they believe were wrongfully convicted.

According to Thomas, the coursework of the academic portion of the paralegal program classes was intense and intellectually demanding.

“Each day was different, exciting, challenging, and fast-paced. The professors started at 9:00 AM sharp. I had to be fully alert and take copious notes,” Thomas wrote. “The interesting part was that our classmates supported each other, despite the competitive nature of legal classes.”

The graduation ceremony showcased the success of this year’s cohort of program graduates, according to Kelly Otter, dean of the School of Continuing Studies.

“They honored us with their hard work and commitment to their studies. They seized the opportunity provided to them and they expressed gratitude to their faculty, the program, and the university,” Otter wrote in an email to The Hoya. “I saw in them people who have powerful lived experiences that they brought to the classroom, to a learning community, and are forging new paths.”

The program went above and beyond to prepare graduates for the legal field, according to Redford. 

“This program was so much more than I expected. The professors have been so helpful and such an inspiration,” Redford wrote. “The information I learned now seems to come into the everyday conversations around me, and it feels so good knowing I understand and can participate in these conversations.”