David Marcus, dressed in a blue graduation cap and gown, walked over to his sister, Amanda Heltzel, and gave her a hug.

Heltzel, who had driven to Ellsworth from Kansas City, sat on the front row. Behind her were men — who like her brother — were here to celebrate milestones in their educational journeys.

The Ellsworth Correctional Facility, in partnership with Barton Community College, staged its annual Learning Celebration Thursday, Nov. 21.

Marcus, 30, was among 145 inmates to walk across the stage at ECF’s Spiritual Life Center. In total, the inmates received 229 degrees, industry certificates and high school diplomas.

Marcus and two other inmates, Momodou Jallow and Tony Hunt, received two-year associate degrees from Barton. Both Jallow and Hunt earned spots on the President’s Spring 2019 honor roll.

“Never in a million years did I think I would get any type of college schooling at all,” Marcus said.

“This has been a wonderful journey and with me doing this in here, I hope it inspires my nieces and nephews to further their education after they graduate from high school.”

Marcus has been at the Ellsworth Correctional Facility since he was 18. He has another four years to serve. A high school dropout, he also earned his high school diploma by passing a GED exam. Upon release, Marcus hopes to start his own company, using the welding skills he learned at ECF to save enough money to buy his own truck and become a truck driver. “I also want to start a family and I want to spend as much time as I can with my sister, nieces and nephews and parents,” he said. Momodou Jallow was joined by his brother, who also came to Ellsworth from Kansas City. Jallow was incarcerated in 2006 and has a release date of 2022. He has been taking classes from Barton since 2011. He praised the opportunity for education at ECF and the teachers from Barton and others whose dedication make the programs successful. “I still believe the best is yet to come for this program,” Jallow said. Hunt, who has been in prison since 1997, is scheduled for release in January 2028. “Personally, I don’t know why I decided to do so much wrong instead of so much right. That’s my reality,” he said. He has learned from his experiences, and he encouraged other inmates to follow his example. “You reach out, grab that helping-hand with both of yours and hang on for dear life.” After his release, Hunt hopes to start a construction business, hiring troubled youth to help them avoid mistakes so they don’t land behind bars like he did. “Whatever community I’m in, I’ll start with the trades, hire the outcasts and get them job and train them up,” he said. Coleen Cape, executive director of institutional advancement at Barton, told the men in the audience that to her they were college students, not inmates. “You are our success story and we thank you so much for that,” she said.

Barton Community College contributed to this story.