29. Start your Profile

Imagine applying for a job several years from now. The employer knows about your conviction and asks what you did during the years that followed. You could describe your intentions, but consider how much more you could show with a record of what you studied, the skills you developed, and the people you helped.

Preparing for that conversation begins long before you submit a job application. The same principle applies when you ask someone to become a mentor, support a release plan, or consider you for greater responsibility.

During my imprisonment, I worked to educate myself and wrote for publication. Writing helped me connect with people who could see how I used my time. Those relationships broadened my support network and helped me secure opportunities before release. I could not change the conviction, but I could give people more information to consider.

We developed the free Profiles platform at Prison Professors to help others build that kind of record. As you develop your profile, you create a central place to document how you’re preparing for the life ahead. You can use that record to support requests for opportunities at different stages of the criminal justice process.

Understand What a Profile Does

Your profile has four main components: biography entries, journal entries, book reports, and release plans. Additional sections allow you to collect testimonials and publish certificates you earn. Together, those materials help readers follow your preparation over time.

Think about the difference between saying you want to improve your education and showing the steps you took. A profile could describe why you selected a book, what you learned, and how you applied a lesson. Later entries could explain how that learning helped you complete a project or contribute to someone else.

Those details help another person evaluate your progress. They also help you think deliberately. You can explain the goals you want to achieve, describe the steps you take, and examine the results. Over time, readers can see how you follow through on your commitments, giving them reasons to have confidence in you.

A comprehensive mitigation strategy considers the life you want to build, but also shows that you’ve worked to make that life possible. With time-stamped entries, your profile helps you explain and document that work.

Start Your Profile

If you have internet access, begin at PrisonProfessors.org/profiles. The page offers options for building your own profile, supporting a loved one, or claiming a profile already in the system.

If you do not have internet access, take one of the following three steps:

1. Ask a trusted family member or friend to open and maintain the profile for you. Then send your updates to that person.

2. Send an email to our team at Interns@PrisonProfessors.org. Use Profile as the subject line.

3. Write your entries by hand and send them to our team at:

   Prison Professors / Profiles

   1205 BMC Drive Suite #706

   Cedar Park, TX 78613

Once you register with Prison Professors, we will follow up and send you a book. The book will offer more insight into how you can use time in prison to prepare for success upon release.

After you start your profile, begin developing the next chapter of your life through your biography entries, journal entries, book reports, and release plans. You can use the questions throughout this series to get started. Each response gives you an opportunity to consider your circumstances, identify a goal, and explain how you intend to move forward.

Write Your First Biography

Begin with a few paragraphs about your background, current circumstances, and goals. You do not need a list of completed achievements before introducing yourself.

Consider these questions:

• What experiences and decisions brought me to this stage of my life?
• What have I learned about myself?
• What responsibilities do I want to prepare for?
• Which steps can I begin taking with the resources available?
• What would I want a reader to see when reviewing my progress six months from now?

Write in your own voice. Choose a specific goal and explain why you selected that goal. Then describe an action you can take this week.

For example, if you want to improve your writing, identify a book you will study and set aside time to practice. Your next journal entry could explain what you learned and where you still need work.

Give yourself a date to review your first entry. Compare what you planned with what you completed, then decide what to do next.