One of the true gifts we receive as an organization is that we get to hear the profoundly moving stories told by our incarcerated participants. And we are continually inspired by the immense talent, creativity, and wisdom that each person brings. During our last weekend workshop at California Men’s Colony Prison (CMC), we heard about an honor that was bestowed upon one of our Mentor Participants, Andre Williams. He was invited to give a commencement speech to the prison’s high school graduating class. He hand-wrote a copy to share with us, and gave us permission to share it with you. It’s a testament to the incredible inner work that is evidenced inside the walls of the prisons we serve. Thank you, Andre!
Powerful Words from a Rising Soul
Good morning, everyone. My name is Andre Williams, and I want to thank all staff members and people who made this opportunity possible. For the hard work, the dedication, and the commitment to providing a better future for us if we choose to embrace it.
I received a notice that mentioned I was going to be a potential graduate speaker. I was excited! I embraced the whole idea of knowing that what I am doing is being recognized. So, I embraced it; I was excited! I was overwhelmed with joy, happiness, and gladness. Overall, I was filled with so much pride, not an arrogant type of pride, but just pride that I am doing something better.
California Men’s Colony (CMC) has provided me courage, confidence, connection, creativity, love, compassion, empathy, and an understanding that my failures do not determine who I am. It’s the mistakes that I learn from and grow from that helped me become able to connect with my inner greatness.
My job here at CMC has become instrumental in my transformation. I’ve met many amazing men and women who have challenged me to go ahead and discover those hidden talents and creativities within myself. They trust in my decision-making, and when I make a mistake, I’m not treated like a failure. For several years, I held myself back because I was afraid to fail because I believed if I failed I couldn’t do anything again, and that people would mock me and hold me down, but it was me who was holding myself down because of the negative self-talk that I was feeding myself.
I would like to share with you just a brief glimpse of a day: August 12th, 1998. August 12th is my birthday; this is the same day that my father chose to take his life. That moment sent me on a path of self-destruction because I felt if he didn’t care about himself why should I care about anybody else? However, fast forward in my destructive behavior, I ended up incarcerated again. I landed in CMC and never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine being in a community of loving people, kind men, and women, men with courage and bravery to become vulnerable and step out of their comfort zone, to say “Hey, how are you doing today?” When you ask someone how they’re doing today, it could make that person think this person cares about me and what I can do for somebody else.
I’ve been able to have meaningful relationships, I’ve been able to have purposeful relationships, I’ve been able to be someone that others say, “I want to be like you, I want to help others.” That has been monumental to me.
There’s a lot of men in here I’m proud to call my friends. Never in my life have I ever called anyone a friend because I was always hurting because I was hurting myself. But you are my friends, you are all my support, and I am yours.
One person that I would like to really send a warm respectful honest deep sincere appreciation to is my supervisor in the safety T-shirt factory. She has opened a door for me that I never, ever imagined possible. I have so many responsibilities that I’ve been entrusted with. Because of the faith that she’s had in my abilities, I’ve been able to create and problem solve and communicate effectively with other coworkers. For that, I am forever grateful! Because she noticed something inside of me that I hadn’t begun to look at and that was my desire and my drive to better myself and become a better human being. I don’t want to be a good person. I want to do good things but what I want to be is a better person because I am already a good person.
I would like to connect with your greatness also in this particular moment before I leave. So when you see me, or you interact with me, or you’re engaged with me, you’ll be confident knowing I’m not better than you—but I can be better for you, and I can be better to you.
I would like to leave you with a new perspective on how valuable we can become to each other.
We make our own set of keys to life. We make each notch of each key from our experiences and the advice of others. Sometimes through sheer luck or the loving grace of God. These keys unlock the secrets of life for us. Occasionally, someone stumbles on a master key, a key to help others create their keys more easily.
Thank you.
Andre Williams
California Men’s Colony (CMC) – San Luis Obispo
High School Graduation Speech, 2024
