Education empowers CDCR incarcerated students

September 16, 2025

CDCR incarcerated students are seeing the positive impact of education.

Two people with firsthand experience are Paul Wiley and Jesse Sotelo, incarcerated students at California Medical Facility (CMF) in Vacaville.

Sotelo enrolled in Professor Sean Gregory’s statistics course over the summer.

A teacher in front of a whiteboard at a CDCR prison school. — *Instructor Sean Gregory*

“In the past, I struggled with education. I didn’t get my GED until 25 years old,” Sotelo explained. “I never thought I was good enough to go to college. Now, after coming here, I found out I am smart (and) I could be that person.”

Incarcerated student Jesse Sotelo at California Medical Facility in Vacaville. — *Jesse Sotelo said he hopes he can inspire his children to pursue a college education.*

Sotelo finally decided to pursue his education since he wanted to be a positive role model to his children. He said he hopes to inspire them to earn their college degrees.

Watch the video (story continues below):

Wiley enrolled in Professor Turney’s speech class over the summer.

Wiley wanted to further his education as he felt that there was more to him than just being an incarcerated person.

“I needed to further my education,” said Wiley. “I would come across certain words and I couldn’t really understand. (So,) I had to get a dictionary (but) I knew there was more to me. I wanted to be a better person.”

Sotelo and Wiley are just two of many incarcerated students working towards enriching themselves and those around them through their active participation in educational programming.

Video and story by Matthew Sichler, associate governmental program analyst
Division of Rehabilitative Programs, DRP Media, Creative Services