Changemaker Series: Access to Education Includes Inmates

Nazareth College Professor Ed Wiltse taught a unique class this past spring semester, Hitting the Road: Journeys in American literature. Half of the students were campus-based here at Nazareth and half were based at Groveland, a men's prison south of Rochester. Wiltse’s work is part of a growing national movement that advocates for access to higher education for all, as a pathway for equity and social justice. 

Guests on the podcast:

Ed Wiltse, Ph.D., professor of English and communication, who has been teaching at Nazareth for 23 years, and in a variety of local jail and prison settings for 20 years.

Three current students and one past student enrolled in the Hitting the Road course:

Alec Goldammer  is a May 2022 Nazareth graduate with bachelor’s degrees in education and English literature. He is also a part of the student-veteran community, spending five-years in active duty in the United States Marine Corps before coming to Nazareth.

Emily Denzler is a May 2022 Nazareth graduate with a bachelor’s degree in business with a communications minor. She was a social media coordinator for the Center For Life's Work located on campus and is always reading in her spare time. 

Joe Rossi is a former Rochester Education Justice Initiative student who was part of the first combined class in Fall 2020. He was working towards his associate’s degree before being incarcerated. Upon re-entry, he earned his associate's degree from SUNY Herkimer in January 2021. He is now set to graduate with his bachelor’s degree in historical studies from SUNY Empire, and plans on pursuing his master's from SUNY Empire in the near future.

Madeline Dovi is a May 2022 Nazareth graduate with a bachelor’s degree in communication and media major with an English minor. She is a freelance journalist, artist, barista, and founding member of the Nazareth PRSSA Chapter. Dovi recently accepted a full time reporting position with the Daily Caller News Foundation, covering the U.S. Justice Department.