Lehigh Prison Project helps inmates get GEDs

In one of Lehigh’s first ever service-learning classes, students were given the opportunity to work with local organizations in relation to criminal justice and prison reform.

Through the practical justice course, which was taught by Lloyd Steffen, professor of religion, culture and society, about one third of the class tutored at a local prison for their service-learning. 

Steffen said those students were so enthusiastic about their experiences that he talked with prison officials to see if a volunteer tutoring program could continue. 

The officials agreed, and so, Steffen, who is also the university’s chaplain and the director of the Dialogue Center, created the Lehigh Prison Project. 

The Lehigh Prison Project involves students volunteering at the Northampton County Prison to help inmates earn General Educational Development certifications, which are equivalent to high school diplomas. 

Steffen said the program has been in and out of action for the past 16 years. At its peak, the program taught 40 student-inmates who passed the GED test.

Due to restrictions put in place during the COVID pandemic, all external projects at the prison were temporarily halted, including the Prison Project. 

But the project was revived in fall 2023 and is open for students to join to tutor once a week for about an hour and a half.

The tutoring is one-on-one, and when possible, students work with the same inmate during each session, Steffen said.

“The students who’ve been involved in the project have found it to be one of the more meaningful things they’ve done while at Lehigh,” he said.

Rebecca Cohen, ‘24, served as a tutor at the prison from the fall of her junior year up until her graduation from Lehigh. After graduating, she became the prison’s full-time teacher. 

Cohen said the prison’s school has a typical classroom setup. Inmates sit at tables alongside their tutors as they work through Kaplan GED workbooks. She also said tutors help the inmates with every subject, from math to science to social studies. 

The inmates are in the prison classroom for two hours each day, she said, with women attending in the morning and men in the afternoon. Lehigh students tutor during the men’s session.

Cohen said those tutored through the Prison Project range from minimum, medium and medium-high security inmates, and there’s a rather strict protocol to follow in order to volunteer. 

Prior to arriving at the prison, students must fill out security and background check forms, she said. Upon arrival, tutors enter through the “school” entrance at the prison and store their belongings in a locker, and they must show their government-issued photo ID to receive a pass to enter. All tutors also follow a dress code set by the prison. 

For students that don’t have access to a car, Steffen said the Chaplain’s office assists with transportation to and from the prison by either arranging a ride or paying for an Uber.

The volunteering students tutor alongside the full-time prison teachers, such as Cohen. 

Cohen said she’s always been interested in criminology, more specifically prison reform. She said she’s had a positive experience working in the Northampton County Prison, and this work has solidified her interest in criminal defense, which she’ll be pursuing when she attends law school in the fall.

“It was so impactful going in as a tutor and realizing how appreciative the men are and how much they thank you for what you’re doing,” Cohen said.

On her first day as a full-time teacher, she delivered a GED certification to an inmate. 

“The other men clapped and cheered for him,” Cohen said. “Now this guy has his GED, and he will hopefully use it when he gets out. As a teacher, those have been the biggest things — people passing their GED, and everyone getting excited for one another.”

She said seeing this excitement is a particularly special part of her job, especially since prison inmates can have a stigma around them. 

Olivia Toro, ‘27, has been tutoring at the prison since her first semester of her first year at Lehigh. 

Inspired by her mother who works in the prison system, Toro said she believes in the importance of giving inmates a fair chance to improve their lives.

She also said the most impactful part of working at the prison is seeing excitement among the inmates — especially when it’s excitement about the chance to better themselves for the future.

“One man would always talk about being excited to get his GED, because he was being released soon, and it would prepare him to get a job,” Toro said.

She said her main piece of advice for students looking to volunteer is to keep an open mind, because even though students don’t necessarily learn inmates’ full stories, they can still make a large impact on their education and future.