NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A former inmate at a women's prison in Nashville is now an intern at one of the country's most prestigious Ivy League universities.
After a year and a half behind bars at the Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center in Nashville, Mary McCrary got out late last year. She was then accepted into a coding internship at Princeton where she analyzes data in a video game program.
I get to talk to Mary in the player above.
"I wake up some days, and I can't even believe I'm here. I'm in New Jersey at an Ivy League School, one of the top schools in America," she said.
Mary says it wouldn't have been possible without a prison computer coding class called "Persevere," which teaches inmates how to build a website from the ground up.
"It brings you hope," said a current inmate in the class at DJRC. "It's amazing that someone came from this class and was able to go so big you know like that's a big deal for me [because] that's what I wanna do when I get out."
That's the purpose of the class: to prove mistakes made in the past don't determine your future.
"Look what you can do," said Mary. "To stay focused on the future and not the past."
Right now, 11 women are enrolled in the coding class at DJRC, and hundreds more are enrolled in vocational programs or earning college degrees statewide.
"To see someone go from prison to Princeton is our wish for every incarcerated person," said Dorinda Carter with TDOC Communications. "We want people to be better than they were when they first came here."
Mary finishes up her internship in August and plans to return to Tennessee to start her own business.
Fostering Hope provides Christmas for kids in foster care. I'm delighted to see Fostering Hope expand this year to expand their reach to now include kids in Foster care in metro AND foster kids in East TN hard hit by Helene.
-Bree Smith
