Friends with Andre Norman since the age of 12, Dominic also spent a considerable amount of time in prison. Upon his release, Andre was Dominic’s mentor and helped him build a new life on the outside. Dominic is now the Regional Director of the Academy of Hope and speaks to incarcerated individuals across the country about how they can start preparing for a successful re-entry on Day One. “Change your mindset. Your family needs you to come home.”

Brent started his career in corrections 27 years ago as a college intern in a probation program. For the last eight years, he’s been the director of the Worth Center, a short-term correctional/treatment facility in Ohio. He runs the facility like a school. Among many other courses, new incarcerates attend “Thinking for a Change,” a course that explores anger issues and builds strong skills to overcome them. “The worst thing in corrections is idle time. Learn as much as you can while you’re there.”

From Day One in the penal system, Giant’s driving force was finding a way to get back home. During his incarceration, he fell in love with reading again and read everything he could get his hands on. When he got out of prison, he became a self-described “human repair agency” and founded Bartendaz, a personal development company. He spends his days traveling to prisons to teach incarcerated individuals the “power of you.” “Your attitude is whatever you’re thinking about; focus on what you can control.”

Kareemah had two Day Ones: the first one took place when she entered the juvenile system at 15 and the second occurred when she entered the Georgia penal system at 18. Facing two life sentences, she was told she would never be released so she made the best of her situation by serving her peers as a tutor. Paroled after 26 years, Kareemah now owns her own salon using the skills she gained from the cosmetology education she completed while incarcerated. “Every goal I wrote down while incarcerated has come to fruition.”

Idris graduated from college, succeeded in real estate, and was blessed with a wife and two children. Unfortunately, he made some unwise business decisions along the way and served 3.5 years in a minimum-security work release program. During his incarceration, he helped a record number of his peers earn their GED , read voraciously, and prepared relentlessly for a successful re-entry. “If you’re strategic, driven, and focused, there’s nothing you can’t do.”

Addicted to meth at 17, arrested for the first time at 18, and sent to a maximum-security federal prison in her early 20s, Jennifer eventually turned her life around and went from pitiful to prosperous. She is the founder of the National Association of Women’s Prison Reform whose mission is “to help women being released from prison reach the Top 1% and establish a sustainable income.” “The same government body that put me in prison now pays me to tell my story.” 

On Day One in prison Keidrain said he was “dumb, naïve, confused, and scared.” But that changed when he decided to step away from bad influences and prison politics. Determined to leave on a high note, Keidrain spent the last five years of his sentence taking classes like cognitive intervention, life skills, politics, history, science, and different cultures. Today, he is a successful business owner, activist, husband, and father. “There are a million ways to make money today without committing a crime.”

Antong is an activist, author, master educator, and trainer who works with the prison population. As a young boy, he flourished in the talented and gifted program at school but because he lived in a violent neighborhood, he joined a gang and eventually ended up in prison. On his first day behind bars, he felt like he had failed at life, so he started making positive changes. He took advantage of every educational opportunity and read 1,000 books before he was released. “Look at your challenges as part of the struggle so you don’t shrink to it.“

“Devastating and unbelievable.” That’s how Stephanie, a preacher and motivational speaker, felt when she got the call that her son committed murder. And sadly, she recently lost her brother, DMX, who passed away from a drug-related heart attack. These events made Stephanie realize that family and friends of the incarcerated also experience their own Day One, where their lives are changed forever. “No matter what you’ve dealt with, you can still be made whole.”

Dr. Donk, a motivational speaker who recently earned his doctorate degree, didn’t let a life sentence plus 90 years stop him from trying new things. While in prison, he found his purpose by looking at his sentence as a “door of opportunity” instead of a locked door. When his sentence was unexpectedly overturned after 10 years in prison, he left prepared to make a positive difference in the world. “It’s not about how hard you are; it’s about what you gain by what you’re walking through.”