Since 2010, Bernadette Vasquez has walked through the gates of a maximum-security prison 103 times—23 two-day workshops and 80 support groups. What began as a service project through the University of Santa Monica became a 14-year journey of connection, learning, and mutual transformation.
A First Experience Beyond Words
Bernadette’s first prison workshop left her searching for language adequate to capture the experience. “It was difficult to put into words, the experience was so overwhelming,” she recalls.
What she could articulate was a flood of emotions: humbled, grateful, aware of her freedom in ways she’d never been before. The first thing she did after leaving the prison? “Hug my kids.”
But alongside that gratitude came something unexpected: “I had a deep appreciation for the intellect and compassion I encountered within the prison.”
Why She Keeps Coming Back: The Men
After 14 years, 23 workshops, and 80 groups, the answer to why Bernadette continues is straightforward: “The men.”
She’s established real relationships with participants, and in those connections, she’s discovered something profound about inspiration. “I learn so much from them, how to stay inspired through difficulty,” Bernadette explains.
The work has also taught her “how to care for an individual without attachment”—a delicate balance that allows for genuine connection while respecting boundaries and circumstances.
For the incarcerated participants, Bernadette represents something essential: contact with the outside world through someone who sees them “not as hardened criminals, but as human beings who merit being treated humanely.”
That recognition—of being seen as human—matters more than most of us on the outside can fully grasp.
A Life of Service
Bernadette’s commitment to Freedom to Choose is part of a larger pattern of service and advocacy. She serves as Co-Chair of the Human Rights Coalition of the Central Valley, bringing her dedication to dignity and justice beyond prison walls.
She also works part-time as a University Supervisor at Fresno State, supervising and mentoring student teachers as they work toward their teaching credentials—helping shape the next generation of educators who will, in turn, shape young lives.
At home, Bernadette’s world revolves around family: three adult sons, two daughters-in-law, five grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. It’s a reminder that the volunteers who show up at prisons bring their whole lives with them—their joys, their families, their perspectives shaped by decades of living.
The Reciprocal Gift
Bernadette’s story illustrates a core truth about Freedom to Choose: the learning flows in both directions. She arrives to offer connection and support, but leaves having learned about resilience, inspiration through adversity, and the capacity of the human spirit to grow even in the most constrained circumstances.
For 14 years, she has shown up consistently, seeing not inmates or criminals, but individuals worthy of human dignity. And in return, those individuals have taught her lessons about perseverance that she couldn’t have learned anywhere else.
That’s 103 times she’s walked through those gates. 103 times she’s chosen to show up. 103 opportunities for mutual transformation.
The Freedom to Choose Project brings together volunteers and incarcerated participants in a unique educational format that transforms lives through connection, skill-building, and the recognition of our shared humanity. Learn more about volunteering at www.FreedomtoChooseProject.org.
