Warriors in the Community is a radio segment that features short, insightful interviews with key figures from Wayne State University about the many ways in which the university and its programs make a positive impact on the metro area and on the lives of Detroiters.
Our third episode features an interview with Terrell Topps, program coordinator for the Educational Transition Coordination (ETC) Program. Working in partnership with the Michigan Justice Fund, the ETC creates a prison-to-college pipeline for formerly incarcerated individuals by clearing a pathway for them into higher education institutions. The reentry program further aims to increase the success rate and economic mobility of people who were formerly incarcerated in Michigan. The new prison reentry program was developed by Wayne State University social scientists Stephanie Hartwell Ph.D., dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Science and Sheryl Kubiak Ph.D., dean of the School of Social Work, and is funded by a grant from the Michigan Justice Fund.
Transcript
Intro: This is “Warriors in the Community” brought to you by Wayne State University, and now to learn about how Wayne State is positively impacting our community, here is Darrell Dawsey.
Darrell Dawsey: Hi, this is Daryl Dossy, and today I'm with Terrell Tops, who's the coordinator of the Educational Transition Coordination Program (ETC) at Wayne State. Tell us a little bit about the Educational Transition Coordination Program or the e tc and tell us a little bit about your role.
Terrell Tops: Well, in a nutshell, the ETC program is a prison to college pipeline for formerly incarcerated people released from prison. Open to enter higher education, whether they are community colleges, vocational trades, and/or four your universities. My role is to coordinate that transition by supporting their hopes with institution and community resources pre-release and throughout the degree completion
Darrell Dawsey: Can you tell us why a program like this is so important to our community?
Terrell Tops: Quite frankly, it directly impacts recidivism and formerly incarcerated people who participate in post-secondary education programs are nearly 50% less likely to be incarcerated again.
Darrell Dawsey: Is there any anecdote that you might be able to share with us that will give us a sense of the impact or the importance of the program?
Terrell Tops: Yeah. One story specifically comes to mind. It's one of the men that we have in the program who served nearly three decades, incarcerated. Once released, he had absolutely no idea how to navigate higher education — the what, the when, the how, the who — and the ETC program was able to answer all of those questions and direct him to become enrolled at Wayne State University as a full-time student.
Darrell Dawsey: Terrell, I want say thank you again for joining us here on the program.
Terrell Tops: Thank you very much. Thanks for having me.
Extro: This has been “Warriors in the Community.” For more Wayne State News, please visit us online at today.wayne.edu/wwj and join us here next Monday at the same time for more warriors in the community.