An Educational Journey That’s Far From Over

When it comes to the words of Nelson Mandela, Romarilyn Ralston ’14 favors one quote above many others: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

Ralston puts those words into practice daily as she helps incarcerated students work toward attaining their undergraduate college degrees and imagining new possibilities—and new hope—for their lives.

Ralston was appointed earlier this year to serve as senior director of the Justice Education Center (JEC) of The Claremont Colleges. In this role, Ralston works with Pitzer and 5C faculty and staff to further develop and institutionalize the pioneering Inside-Out Pathway-to-BA program, which is central to the JEC’s mission. That program helps currently incarcerated individuals (“inside” students) to obtain bachelor’s degrees as they learn alongside on-campus Claremont Colleges (“outside”) students.

With the appearance of its first graduates in 2021, that program started receiving steady media attention nationwide that continues to this day. For Ralston, this level of attention is well-deserved. 

“For incarcerated people, pursuing a college degree is a dream come true,” she said. “They are among the best students our faculty have ever had. They’re prepared, open to discussing material, and open to dialogues and conversations about opposing views. Our program is very important to our inside students because, like me, they have dreams of college and aspirations.”

Ralston said she is focused on enhancing the JEC’s sustainable intercollegiate identity by tapping into the 6Cs: care, compassion, competence, communication, courage, and commitment. She also has a deeply personal understanding of the life-changing power of education. She kept her own educational dreams alive during 23 years of incarceration; upon her release in 2011, she enrolled at Pitzer as a New Resources student.

“I chose education as my transformative practice and have not stopped learning since.” 

— Romarilyn Ralston ’14

As a Pitzer undergraduate, she served as a summer intern with the Community Engagement Center, participated in the Borrowed Voices Program, was nominated by the College for the Napier Fellowship, and won a CORO Fellowship. After graduation, she earned a master’s degree at Washington University in St. Louis and went on to lead Project Rebound at California State University, Fullerton.  She was recognized with the College’s Distinguished Alumni award in 2020 before returning to Pitzer to lead the JEC. In 2022, Ralston also received something else that was deeply meaningful: a full pardon from California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Despite many degrees and academic accomplishments, Ralston said her education is far from over.

“I chose education as my transformative practice and have not stopped learning since,” said Ralston, who started a doctoral program this fall in executive management at Claremont Graduate University’s Drucker School of Management.

Despite the demands of her doctoral program and her JEC responsibilities, Ralston continues to make time for related activities. Recently, she was appointed to the council of the Napier Institute for Creative Change, an important partnership between The Claremont Colleges and Pilgrim Place senior community that promotes peace and intergenerational leadership (and provides an important annual fellowship to students from the 5Cs).

The personal impact of education on Ralston’s life is something she imparts to the Inside-Out program’s students today. She noted that the JEC’s goal of preparing incarcerated students for new opportunities—and new lives—upon their release doesn’t only benefit them. Communities benefit, too. She said these graduates contribute in meaningful ways that show the program’s benefits are reciprocal, which is the aim of Pitzer’s network of community engagement efforts. 

“Our Inside-Out graduates learn to contribute in impactful ways as they start their lives over, and that’s important,” she said. “It helps them not only realize that they can begin again, but it also teaches our communities an important lesson—that there is reconciliation and great value in our incarcerated students when they’re shown compassion and given a chance. I’m grateful to have a role in this.” 

View the Gallery