Ep. 117: Free Your Mind with Patrick Rodriguez

Happy Day, Friend! 

On this week’s podcast episode, I’m talking about higher education in prison, and why it’s an important policy initiative to help incarcerated young people to begin their life’s journey again, and to live a meaningful life steeped in the values of truth, responsibility, and freedom. 

My guest this week is Patrick Rodriguez.   

Patrick was released from prison in December 2019, and since then, he has worked to serve those who have been impacted by the prison system. Working as both the Co-Executive Director for the Georgia Coalition for Higher Education in Prison and the Director of Special Projects for Common Good Atlanta, he has learned what it takes to implement prison college-accredited programs and support formerly incarcerated students who are seeking to navigate the university space. 

He was selected out of 432 applicants to be one of eight Justice Fellows with the Education Trust. The goals of this fellowship consistent of understanding policy at the intersection of higher Education and Incarceration. While thinking of ways to push legislation and policy, Patrick has been accepted to the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials’ Institute for Leadership. This is so that he can understand the intersection of Latino people and the political system and how to advocate for more prison education programs. 

Patrick is currently pushing policy that will ban the box that asks if you have been convicted of a crime on college applications in the state of Georgia. Patrick is currently majoring in organizational and professional communication at Kennesaw State University, will graduate in Spring of 2022 and will attend graduate school in the fall 2022.

Patrick and I talk about: 

~ his background growing up and the series of choices that led him into the prison system;  

~ his release from prison in 2019 and his desire to serve those impacted by the prison system;  

~ how prison impacted his mind and moral compass;  

~ what caused him to focus on the intersection of higher education and incarcerated youth;

~ what keeps him focused, inspired and motivated; and 

~ so much more! 

It was such an insightful conversation. Patrick is up to some amazing work. I hope you gained a ton of value from it and enjoyed listening to Patrick’s story. Please consider supporting his work. 

Connect with Patrick Rodriguez 👉 Instagram

If you have any questions, thoughts, or comments: connect with me on social media @atheadavis!   

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Keep breathing deep and shining bright, Friend! ☀️

XO ~ Athea 

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