My name is Michael Santos, founder of Prison Professors.
I am grateful for every opportunity to speak with people who work inside the prison system. Staff members have the power to influence lives. I know that from personal experience.
During my first year in confinement, I lived in a solitary cell. I was facing life without parole. A correctional officer gave me books that changed the way I thought. Through those books, I learned from leaders like Frederick Douglass, Socrates, Nelson Mandela, and others who taught me that a person can grow through adversity.
That lesson shaped the next 26 years of my life in federal prison.
A judge sentenced me to 45 years. I served time in high-security penitentiaries, medium-security prisons, low-security prisons, camps, a halfway house, home confinement, and supervised release. I went through the entire journey. Along the way, I learned that every decision we make can influence the rest of our life.
That is the message behind Prison Professors.
We encourage every person in prison to begin building a record of growth. Write a new biography. Keep a journal. Read books and write book reports. Build a release plan. Collect testimonials. Show the world how you are preparing to live as a law-abiding, contributing citizen.
Our nonprofit provides these resources free of charge. We send books, publish lessons, and help people document their progress through Prison Professors Talent. The mission is simple: help people prepare for the highest level of liberty, at the soonest possible time.
The newest book, Playbook: Become the CEO of Your Life, gives people a structure they can use to take responsibility for their future. That means defining success, setting priorities, building tools and resources, measuring progress, and executing every day.
I tell people in prison: you should become your own prison professor. You should write your own curriculum. You should create a body of work that shows how you are preparing for a better life.
This is how we serve. This is how we advocate. This is how we work toward a system that rewards preparation, accountability, and merit.
I am grateful to the administrators, teachers, reentry coordinators, and staff members who believe in programs. I am also grateful for every person in prison who chooses to invest in personal growth.
Every day brings a decision.
Will we wait for time to pass?
Or will we use time to build a better future?
Reflection Question:
What can I do today to show that I am preparing for the highest level of liberty, at the soonest possible time?