Hudson Link Success Stories

Sammy earned his Ed.D in this past June 2016 from St. John’s Fisher College, his Bachelor degree from Mercy College in 2005 and his Master in Social Work degree from Lehman College in 2010. He is one of Hudson Link’s only alumni to complete his degrees after his release in 2004 and says the support he received from the agency’s staff kept him motivated to continue his education.

“It’s true, education does have transformative power. Hudson Link came in and kept me going,” said Sammy, who earned a Certificate in Ministry from the New York Theological Seminary while serving his time. “I was doing some self-searching and saw the impact education had on some of the others who were incarcerated. I wanted that for myself.”

The ultimate Hudson Link success story, Sammy is now Hudson Link’s Program Director, overseeing five academic coordinators and its alumni coordinator. “I’m a perpetual student,” he says. “I would encourage the men inside to get back to school. Education is critical, especially now.”

Arrested in 1986, Gregory did 27 years behind bars and spent most of it obtaining an education.

“I didn’t think I was going to get out,” Gregory says about his decision to start college behind bars.

“When the opportunity came up to go school, it was something to do every night. Learning always came easily to me, and there was no television when I was growing up. Reading was my escape.” An artist and educational consultant by trade, Gregory read over 15,000 books during his time in prison. He was in Hudson Link’s first graduating class of 2001 with Executive Director Sean Pica, and was the only graduate to return to Sing Sing as an instructor a few years after his release.

“It was hard,” he remembers about going back to the place where he spent nearly three decades of his life. “I knew I wanted to help others through education the way I had been helped, but every corner held a nightmare.”

Gregory has been home ten years now and sometimes, he says it feels like “just last week” that he was released. He is working hard to strengthen his relationships with his son and two daughters. He has one grandson who is a graduate of Georgetown University, and three others who are graduating high school and plan to follow in their
grandfather’s footsteps by attending college.

“I’m closest to my son now – I was reunited with him after 24 years by a guard at Sing Sing while I was still inside,” Gregory said. “And my daughter is the most stable person I’ve ever met.”

He credits the education and re-entry support he receives from Hudson Link and its staff for helping him rebuild his life from the inside out. “You can learn a lot of things academically in prison, but family is the hardest thing to readjust to on the outside,” he said. “Sean and Hudson Link have been family to me when I had none. They have taught me how to become part of a family.”

She is a Hudson Link alumnus and remains very involved with the program. She is currently a criminal justice and anti-poverty reform advocate and the mission outreach coordinator for The Reformed Church of Bronxville’s Coming Home re-entry program, where she facilitates weekly groups designed to help participants deal with the transition to life after incarceration.

Since 2012, Alexandra has worked for a non-profit organization in Westchester County that promotes economic independence for disadvantaged families by providing a network of support and career development skills. A former member of the Dress for Success Board of Directors, she services individuals who have been disconnected
from the workforce – whether through incarceration, substance abuse, domestic violence, and/or personal troubles. She spearheads a program at Westchester County Jail to provide pre-release training and coordinated planning to incarcerated youth to support their transition back into the community.

Alexandra’s positive influence on youth and families also extends much closer to home. Her daughter, Arielle, has previous experience in the criminal justice system and is now a student in the Hudson Link program, working toward her bachelor’s degree on campus at St. Francis College with Hudson Link scholarship funding.

“It’s about changing the legacy,” Alexandra said. “I can’t do anything for anyone else unless I do for myself. I knew I couldn’t be an example for my daughter unless I changed. And a lot of the inspiration for pursuing my education came from Hudson Link.”

Alexandra is continuing her own education as well. She is pursuing a PhD in social work at Fordham University, with a focus on the patterns and causes of intergenerational crime within the United States. Her hope is to use both her deeply personal experiences and academic concentrations to teach about the criminal justice system, advocate for change, and raise awareness about how others can work towards remedying injustice in the court and prison systems with a focus on the increasing criminalization of women and mothers.

Douglas had dropped out of school as a teenager and became involved with the wrong group of people. His poor choices set him on a course of self-destruction that would not only change his life forever, but also the lives of the family of his victim, his own family and that of his community.

“I believed that my life was over,” Douglas said. “I believed that I had no possibility of redemption. I believed that prison was all I was worth.”

Douglas entered prison a solemn person, lacking the confidence to speak to his peers, always keeping to himself. He spent the first few years of his incarceration in a personal prison of isolation, unable to unlock the doors to healing.

Douglas would watch the men heading to the school building at night and wonder, “if I had chosen the course of education, would my life and the life of my family been different?” Eventually, he realized that education was an opportunity to transform his life and give something back to his family. He saw education as a chance to make his family proud after all the shame that he had caused them.

Douglas was accepted into the Mercy College program at the Sing Sing Correctional Facility in 2002. For the first three years of college he worked hard but barely spoke in class, never having the confidence to articulate his feelings or opinions. Eventually, as Douglas’ confidence grew, he found his voice.

“Without question, I would not enjoy the relationship and level of respect that I share with my children today if not for the opportunity that Hudson Link offered me to help transform my life,” Douglas said.

“Hudson Link gave me a chance to earn the love and respect of my three children – Deshawn, Talesha and Ashley. Hudson Link enabled me to become a better person and more importantly, a better father.”

On June 6, 2007, Douglas graduated from Mercy College with a Bachelor’s degree in Behavioral Science and the prestigious Ossie Davis Award. Douglas became a clerk in Hudson Link’s Sing Sing office, helping to coordinate the college program while he pursued his Master’s degree in Professional Studies from the New York Theological
Seminary.

On June 4, 2014, Douglas was released from Sing Sing, reunited with his family and returned to his community. He visits the Hudson Link office in Ossining with family members to thank the staff and prepare for the opportunities that a college education has made possible for him and the example he has set for his children.

Douglas now works as a counselor at FedCap in the Bronx and his oldest daughter, Talesha, has started college at SUNY Sullivan, who is also a college partner with Hudson Link. Talesha summed up her experience of living life with an incarcerated parent: “My father’s incarceration had a devastating effect on my life. Throughout elementary school I was always in trouble, fighting with students and teachers, and as a result, getting suspended from school. I was angry at the world and blamed everyone for my father’s poor decisions and incarceration. Then something transformative happened…my father enrolled in Hudson Link’s college program at Sing Sing and he started to become a changed person.

“When I believed I couldn’t pass a math test, my father encouraged me and told me I could do it. At times when I thought I couldn’t go on, my father reminded me that there was someone out there who needed my help in making a difference in their life. Although my father was not able to attend my high school graduation, I was able to attend his college graduation. I am extremely proud of my father for all of his accomplishments, but on his graduation day I was especially proud to say, I am Douglas’ daughter.

“As a result of my father’s love and encouragement I am a strong, self-confident and determined young woman. My father taught me not to become a product of my environment or let the circumstances of my childhood negatively shape my future; but instead to work hard and pursue my dreams. Thanks to his courage and inspiration, this fall I started college and hope to one day become a radio personality where I can reach out to others through music and everyday issues.

“Being the child of an incarcerated parent can be very difficult and painful and many wonder how a father in prison miles away can be such a motivating force in his daughter’s life. To that I simply say, it’s not about the miles and bars that keep us apart, it’s about the bond that keeps us together.”

“I have been blessed to come across individuals in my life, that were not afraid to open their hearts and minds; who took the time to know me and overlooked the crime I have committed,” Dexter says. “Through these amazing individuals, I was able to better myself by continuing my education and came to love and appreciate music on different level.”

Dexter became involved in Carnegie Hall’s Musical Connections and Musicambia projects, which allowed him to express himself through music. There, he was able to write his first musical composition, I Must Confess (I’m Not Ashamed to Cry), which has been performed at Carnegie Hall, the White House and now at tonight’s 14th Annual Hudson Link Spring Benefit.

“The song was inspired by my wife, who I love dearly,” Dexter says of his wife of 13 years, Yasmeen Hines. “I love you more than the sparkling stars in the sky.”

Germaine’s parents separated; his father was rarely present and his mother’s new boyfriend, who proved to be psychologically and emotionally abusive, moved in. “Everything became so unsettled and dysfunctional so fast, the only reactions I could muster were confusion, anger, and fear. So I took those feelings and tried to use them as a form of power which was the perfect formula for trouble.”

Germaine’s fear and anger led him down the wrong path and landed him in prison. It did not take much time in prison for Germaine to realize that his actions were not only hurting himself, but also hurting the people he loved most, his family. He also realized that he needed to change if he wanted to make his family proud. He started by going back to school for his GED, especially when he say how obtaining his GED positively affected himself and his family. This was his first major academic achievement and it set in motion a series of continued achievements.

While incarcerated at Sing Sing Correctional Facility, Germaine discovered the New York Theological Seminary where he enrolled and obtained a Certificate in Ministry. Through taking art classes, he also developed his skill as an artist. And to help him understand and overcome his feelings of anger, he took a number of therapeutic courses including “Alternative to Violence” and “Domestic Violence.”

In 2004, Germaine’s drive to continue to learn and grow led him to the office door of Hudson Link for Higher Education where he was given the opportunity to enroll in Mercy College and earn a bachelor’s degree in Behavioral Science. It was his involvement with Hudson Link that helped him to become a better speaker, a better writer, a critical thinker, and a better person. Hudson Link was redesigning their website, and Germaine was the perfect candidate to create the current logo.

“It was through Hudson Link that I not only learned a wealth of knowledge about human behavior, but a wealth of insight into my own behavior and feelings as well. It was a journey of self-discovery.”

In 2010 Germaine was released from prison 6 months early, as a result of his academic achievements and display of growth, understanding, and remorse.

“Hudson Link gave me the ability to express my change as professionally and pragmatically as possible. Hudson Link also helped me express myself artistically.”

Today, Germaine is a graphic and video editor for Love & Fashion Entertainment and a freelance graphic designer for a host of community organizations.