CTC awards degrees to four incarcerated students at Gatesville unit

Charlotte Leal said the degree meant a second chance, and the moment inside the chapel at the Patrick O’Daniel Unit in Gatesville carried weight far beyond a formal graduation. Leal was one of four incarcerated students who earned Associate of Arts degrees through Central Texas College’s prison education program, along with Jeremisha Adams, Lupe Arriaga and Tabitha Clemens.

Tabitha Clemens was the valedictorian for the ceremony, which also included graduates from Windham School District and Texas Woman’s University. That mix of high school, college and advanced study gave the event a layered feel, showing how education can move through multiple levels inside the prison system and continue to build toward release planning and long-term stability.

For Coryell County, the stakes reach beyond the unit fence line. Central Texas College said the prison education program grew to 18 course sections in spring 2026, with classes in government, science, math, English and computer science. The program now includes a Paralegal Studies pathway and select computer science electives, with plans to build out a full computer science pathway. Enrollment has climbed from 78 students in 2024-2025 to more than 200 in the current academic year.

Leal said her goal is to use the degree to help other women see that education can continue inside prison walls. She said she hopes to return one day as a mentor and life coach. Adams said earning her degree broke a generational pattern in her family, noting that her mother left school in sixth grade and her grandmother also did not finish. She said school changed how she thinks and helps her make better decisions, and she wants to pursue sociology and motivational speaking.

The program is part of a broader correctional education structure in Gatesville-area facilities, where the Texas Department of Criminal Justice lists Central Texas College academic programming along with Literacy-GED, Special Education, CHANGES/Pre-Release, Cognitive Intervention and Parenting services. TDCJ also says post-secondary participation requires both college admission and security and classification clearance, underscoring that these classes are tied to rehabilitation and reentry preparation, not just coursework.

CTC said the program serves students across multiple Gatesville units in coordination with TDCJ’s Rehabilitation Programs Division. That local reach matters in a county where the college’s own history traces back to 1965, when Central Texas College was authorized in part to serve the state correctional facilities in Gatesville. What happened in the chapel at Patrick O’Daniel Unit was not an isolated ceremony. It was a visible reminder that education in Coryell County can alter family trajectories, strengthen job readiness and reduce the odds that a prison sentence becomes a permanent one.