One FEPPS student was released from prison with enough time to finish her degree on campus.
Elizabeth Shatswell ’24 wasn’t sure what to expect when she walked onto the campus of the University of Puget Sound after 23 years in prison. She had started her higher education in the Washington Corrections Center for Women in Gig Harbor through FEPPS—the Freedom Education Project Puget Sound. Arrested at age 17 and serving a 55-year sentence, she was released early in July 2023.
Shatswell was 39; the students on campus were younger and had had different life experiences. But, she says, “The faculty and students scooped me up and supported me,” she says. “They didn’t make me feel out of place in group projects. It wasn’t weird because I was older. They just saw me as an equal.”
Her first semester, Shatswell had a two-hour bus commute each way to class and was exhausted. Debbie Chee, senior associate dean for student services, arranged for her to stay at an apartment on campus.
Shatswell graduated with the rest of the Class of ’24 this past May at Baker Stadium. Shortly after, she got involved in the university’s summer research program, working with Tanya Erzen, FEPPS director and professor of religion, spirituality, and society, on research that she hopes will help her build a nonprofit advocating for community-based, intergenerational health care in spaces such as prisons and mental health facilities.
Shatswell was nominated for a Watson Fellowship, and also has been interviewing for positions at several corporations. Instead of experiencing prejudice in the corporate world, she has found the opposite to be true. Employers value what she learned in prison, she says—skills that she says aren’t always taught in the classroom: conflict management, research management, time management, and interpersonal skills.
