A different kind of road trip
Five years ago, Nurudeen Alabi ’25 was writing term papers inside a prison cell as a member of Boston College’s Prison Education Program. Now, he’s a free man, a graduate of BC’s Woods College of Advancing Studies, and one of the featured cast members in an upcoming documentary on higher education in prison.
This spring, Alabi began filming for Roadtrip Nation, an award-winning educational series that follows middle school, high school, and college students as they traverse the country in a neon green RV, gathering insights and inspiration from people with diverse backgrounds and career paths. The series, which has aired on PBS for two decades, has amplified the stories of first-generation and community college students, frontline and public service workers, and leaders in the Black and Indigenous communities. Now, it’s shining a spotlight on individuals who have overcome past struggles with the carceral system to become leaders in their fields and communities.
For his “road trip,” Alabi traveled with two other cast members to Los Angeles, California, and Denver, Colorado, where he interviewed formerly incarcerated men and women about their current careers as well as their experiences with higher education in prison. Several had gone on to work at the universities they graduated from, helping formerly incarcerated students integrate into the campus community. Others were teaching in prison education programs or involved in nonprofits.
“The documentary is really about helping us figure out what happens next,” said Alabi, who hopes to use his degree to develop better housing options for recently incarcerated individuals. “These people have done the same types of programs as us and achieved a lot, so they can give us advice and help us think about what steps we want to take moving forward.”
Each cast member also traveled to their home state, to film individual segments and interview local leaders. Alabi, a Boston native, invited cameras to film him at home as well as on the Heights, where he first arrived as a Woods student in 2022 after serving 15 years in prison.
Filming in Bapst Library
The cameras were also rolling during the Woods commencement ceremony on May 19, as Alabi became the first member of the BC Prison Education Program to graduate on campus (the program held its first commencement ceremony for incarcerated students last fall). Friends and family cheered from the audience as Alabi collected his diploma, and was later presented with the St. Ignatius Award for Personal Development.
“Nurudeen has demonstrated remarkable personal growth during his time at BC,” said Patrick Conway, the Ignacio Chair and director of the Boston College Prison Education Program, who presented the award. “His leadership, generosity, and resilience have played a critical role in shaping BCPEP into the success that it is today.”
The Boston College Prison Education Program is currently the largest higher education prison program in the state of Massachusetts, offering college-level courses to incarcerated students at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution in Shirley, Mass. Boston College instructors travel to MCI-Shirley every week, where they teach 25 courses annually in the applied liberal arts. Of the nearly 100 students who have been admitted to the program so far, four have earned bachelor’s degrees from Boston College (with five more set to graduate in the fall), and 15 are currently studying on campus following their release.
Filming an interview at home in Boston
Alabi was among the first cohort of students accepted into the program in 2019, and amassed 40 credits while incarcerated. He credits the program with refocusing him on his studies, and preparing him for success outside of prison.
“It changed the trajectory of my life,” he said after his release. “Growing up in inner city Boston, education wasn’t a big thing, but being in the PEP showed me that there’s a life outside of your neighborhood, your city, your state, that education can bring you to.”
At Woods, Alabi became a mentor to students coming up behind him, helping them navigate the transition from prison to campus. Over time, he became more comfortable talking about his experience, even traveling to conferences to speak about the importance of higher education in prison. When the Roadtrip Nation documentary airs next spring, he’ll be able to reach an even wider audience with a message that success after prison is possible.
“When I first came home, I wasn’t a real talkative person,” he said. “But I’ve realized that my story is bigger than me and that it can make a difference. If it changes one person’s mind, that’s good enough.”