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What's Cool At School? – A graduation ceremony for women turning their lives around
NORTH LAS VEGAS, NV ( KLAS ) – Every graduation is special but there's one that may be just a little more special.
Dr. Genevieve Minter from the College of Southern Nevada's Prison Education Program started the recent ceremony at the Nevada Dept of Corrections Florence McClure women's prison in North Las Vegas, telling the grads:
'We got a lot of people who want to say a lot of nice stuff to celebrate the whole reason why we're here: you guys.'
The 'you guys' in this case were 13 women who earned workforce training certificates in hospitality and air conditioning.
The founder of 'Hope For Prisoners,' Jon Ponder, who we've featured many times on 8newsnow, asked the women to look at their hands, saying 'those lines represent your past, but today, we're pushing the reset button.'
The President of CSN, Dr. William Kibler told the women:
'You pursued education not just as a means to an end, but as a declaration of who you are and who you are invested in yourselves and your future and in your power to create change.
In her keynote speech, Las Vegas City Councilwoman Nancy Brune quoted the popular book 'The Alchemist' telling the grads, 'When you want something, the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.'
The women listened. And smiled. And one by one they made their way across the stage, including Karen Kincaid who high-fived her fellow grads on her way two certificates
The theme of reinvention echoed throughout the afternoon.
Congrats not only to the grads who put in the work, but also to the partnership between the College Of Southern Nevada and the Nevada Dept of Corrections.
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