Published: April 15, 2008 10:33 am      

The ceremony was the first of its kind to be held at the Henryville Correctional Facility.

HENRYVILLE — Of the seven graduates seated in the small cafeteria, Lorenzo Martin was the only one to stand before the small group gathered there and make a speech.

He stood behind the podium and unfolded a lined piece of notebook paper, giving thanks to his teacher, Sam Hecht, and the people he graduated alongside.

Martin’s speech wasn’t unusual, except for the fact that he was receiving his GED while incarcerated at Henryville Correctional Facility. Instead of a cap and gown, he was wearing the regulation brown pants and shirt like all the other inmates —with one glaring difference — he also wore a broad and unstoppable grin across his face.

On the wall to the left of Martin, a plaque hung with names engraved on plates — the highest scorers in each round of GED graduates. The ceremony was the first of its kind to be held at the Henryville Correctional Facility.

“We have so many names, we need to get another plaque,” said Alan Chapman, the facility’s superintendent. “That’s a beautiful thing.

“We’re here to honor these men who have achieved something in their lives.”

As Chapman announced each inmate’s name and each one walked up to receive a certificate for graduating from the GED program, he shook their hands and proudly congratulated them.

“All we’re doing is preparing you for life — your gonna live it or we’re gonna see you back here,” Chapman said. “This certificate is to symbolize you really did achieve something.”

The New Albany-Floyd County Consolidated School Corp. sponsors the GED classes for inmates at the correctional facility, and it also conducts classes for inmates at Floyd County, Clark County, Washington County, Scott County and Harrison County jails. One-third of the GED graduates in the program are at correctional facilities.

“If you don’t have a GED, what are you going to do when you get out?” asked Stephen Cunningham, the director of alternative learning through NA-FC Schools. “Are you going to support yourself (and family) on minimum wage? I don’t think so.”

The inmates at the facility in Henryville get four hours of instruction from Hecht a week, and the teaching varies according to the inmate’s needs. The test they ultimately take is more difficult than the test students take to graduate from high school, Cunningham said.

“It’s much harder to get this than pass the graduation exam that it seems like a whole lot of our high school students struggle with,” Cunningham told the GED graduates at Henryville.

Martin dropped out of high school in the 10th grade, under the influence of “the streets,” he said.

He wound up in Henryville, at the correctional facility 15 months ago. With a young daughter, he wants to be a good influence, and getting his GED is the first step.

And Martin didn’t only help himself in getting his GED, he helped the other inmates get their diplomas as well. Though his modesty wouldn’t allow him to admit it, the other inmates were the first to acknowledge that his help was crucial to their success.

“I wouldn’t have gotten it if it wasn’t for him,” said Tony Shreve. “He tutored all of us one way or another.”

All the inmates receiving their GEDs echoed the same sentiment. This is a way for them to be successful when they’re released, to get a job and support the families many left behind when they were arrested. The Indiana Department of Correction maintains education reduces the likelihood of recidivism.

In Indiana, 18,000 people will be released from jails, prisons and correctional facilities in 2008; four in 10 will return. Education is a means to make sure that they don’t come back, said David Burch, the director of re-entry for the Department of Correction.

Charles Cunningham, who earned his GED, agrees.

“I have small children. I want to be a good influence to them, and not only that, but I want to do good for them when I get out,” Cunningham said.

Martin plans on continuing his education. He’ll soon start taking college correspondence courses and wants to study business management.

“It wasn’t easy,” Martin said of getting his GED. “But it feels real good.”