Sparking Enthusiasm and Confidence Eager faces. Tentative voices. Nervous laughter. Odyssey Beyond Bars offers noncredit courses in the summer at Columbia, Racine, Taycheedah, and Waupun Correctional Institutions. Each site’s offerings are slightly different, but the …
Odyssey Beyond Bars
Beyond Odyssey Beyond Bars
Beyond OBB On May 18, students in full caps and gowns, diplomas in hand, turned their tassels and celebrated the completion of their degrees at Oakhill Correctional Institution. Governor Tony Evers congratulated the graduates, shaking …
Odyssey Beyond Bars Graduations
Odyssey Beyond Bars Graduations Across Wisconsin, Odyssey Beyond Bars (OBB) students marked academic milestones in large and small ways. At Waupun Correctional, one student held his certificate of completion over his head like a Super …
Incarcerated women join Odyssey Beyond Bars
OBB’s first course for incarcerated women welcomed 12 students at Taycheedah Correctional Institution as new Badgers. The students, who ranged in age from 25 to 55, quickly identified something they all had in common: a …
Writing as Revelation Inside Prison
“Our creative minds burst like piñatas when tapped into, for without creativity there would be no color in our bleak environment,” writes one Odyssey Beyond Bars student. “I write to find myself,” adds another, “and …
Meet OBB trailblazer Jean Feraca
“Teaching in prison has been the most democratizing experience of my life,” says award-winning journalist and Odyssey cofounder Jean Feraca. She adds, “It cuts me down to size while it equalizes and exalts me. It …
Building on a Record-Breaking Year
“Because of Odyssey Beyond Bars, I found hope and the pathway to becoming a better man and father,” wrote one incarcerated learner at Oakhill Correctional Institution. So much has happened in the five years since …
Odyssey Beyond Bars: Communities benefit from prison education program
This article is part of a series celebrating 20 years of the Odyssey Project. Follow along as we remember where we’ve been and look forward to where we’re going. After serving 38 years in …
One year out: OBB alum pursues graduate degree, community mentorship
In December 2021, alum Robert Taliaferro had a lot to look forward to. He was celebrating the end of a successful semester with Odyssey Beyond Bars, writing a feature for the Prison Journalism Project — and completing the last of his 38 years in prison.
Correcting the Narrative: Celebrating community success stories
At Odyssey Beyond Bars, we know that connecting people with high-quality education in prison equips them with tools for lifelong success — and we were thrilled to celebrate some of those successes at the Second Annual Correcting the Narrative Awards.