Guest Blogger: Dr. Riebold!

Hi blog-readers!  I'm Dr. Riebold.  The wonderful people at 304 Community Education asked me to give a personal update on the Back to Work program at FCI Morgantown.  I am very grateful that the organization has let me volunteer my time and efforts to help our community.  It's nice to kick off retirement every once in a while and teach for a bit and I must say, this program is moving along splendidly.

As most of our readers already know, the Back to Work program is a six-week resume & cover letter writing workshop for inmates at FCI Morgantown.  I have 24 students total, and we have finally reached the halfway point. My students are putting a lot of effort into their revisions and their resumes look amazing.  They have really surprised me in the time and effort they are putting into making their documents organized and professional.

Some of the most amazing resumes have come from students who thought a resume was just a hand-written list of their name, phone number and previous experience.  I am glad they have learned how to effectively organize their work, focus on making documents look professional and effectively sell themselves for a position.  (I am really proud.)

Hector's original "Resume"

Hector's Current Draft of his Resume

We will be starting cover letters next week and I hope to see as much effort put into them as the resumes.  If anyone wants to help me grade and revise these documents, I'd be glad to have an assistant go over everything with me.  Feel free to contact me or any of the members at 304 Community Education via their email at English304@gmail.com or (304) 293-5566.

First Day of Classes!

The first day of the Back to Work program was a tremendous success!  Our resume and cover letter program had a great turnout today.  Many of the students really enjoyed learning how to prepare themselves for getting a job after they are released.

As usual, a member from our team was on scene to make sure that English 304 Community Education's vision for the program was being carried out.  Andrea was very pleased with the enthusiasm of the students.  According to her, "Many of the students have shown an incredible improvement in just one day.  I can't wait to see their progress at the end of the program!"

According to Dr. Reibold, all of the students attended and participated in the class.  He was surprised by the willingness to learn had by the students.  "These guys really want to improve their lives.  They want to make sure that they don't end up here again, and I think most of them see this class as a way to stay on the right track.  It's really very inspirational."

We wanted to find out what the students thought about the program.  After class, Andrea interviewed several of the students to find out their opinions.  David, serving a two year sentence for a drug related charge, said, "I know I have made mistakes in my past but that doesn't mean I can't change.  I want to take steps to turn my life around.  This class will help me to get a job and make a better life for me and my family.  I can't tell you how grateful I am to have this opportunity."  Another student named Hector, who is also doing time for a drug related charge, said, "I feel like I have already improved!  When I walked in today, I had no idea where to begin.  When Dr. Reibold asked me to turn in my resume, I handed him a piece of paper with my name and phone number on it.  Now I know that's not even close to a resume."

We are very happy with the results of the Back to Work program thus far.  The remarkable improvements the students have made in the first day gives us hope that the program will be extremely effective.  We really want to see all of the participants succeed and obtain employment after they are released.  Seeing the excitement and gratefulness on the faces of the students makes all of our hard work worthwhile.

If you would like to help out with the Back to Work program by donating supplies or volunteering your time, please contact us at English304@gmail.com.

Andrea and Dr. Reibold going over the syllabus for the
Back to Work Writing Workshop