Event Description:
Prisoner Reentry Institute's Navigator Certificate Inaugural Graduation Ceremony
Tuesday, June 4
5:30 to 8:30pm
Moot Court (Room 6.68)
Individuals returning to society after incarceration face numerous barriers, including obtaining housing, gaining employment, accessing education, and fulfilling parole requirements. One organization is taking a new approach to use students’ lived experiences in the justice system as an asset to help others navigating such barriers. On Tuesday, June 4th, 17 students will graduate from the inaugural class of the Navigator Certificate in Human Services and Community Justice, a new program at the intersection of workforce development program and higher education operated by the Prisoner Reentry Institute (PRI), a research center at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
Speakers will include Karol Mason, the President of John Jay College, Sarah Cassel of the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ), and John Valverde, the CEO of Youth Build USA. Funded by the NYC Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, the Navigator Certificate is an intensive, semester-long training for individuals with lived experience in the criminal justice system who seek employment and advancement in the human services field so that they can help others navigate the journey from the justice system to community success. The program combines college-level coursework with professional skills development.
Weeks before graduation, Navigator Certificate students are already showing positive outcomes, with students landing job interviews and offers and taking steps to pursue higher education. In a first-of-its-kind program at John Jay College, students who complete the Navigator Certificate and matriculate at John Jay College also earn 6 credits toward a degree at John Jay.
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