Interested in learning more about incarceration and the prison-to-education pipeline? 📚✍🏽 USC Dornsife’s Prison Education Project is the perfect place to get involved.
At PEP, we create the opportunity for USC and incarcerated students to learn from each other. Through our programs, students design, teach, and participate in classes with incarcerated folk in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitations.
Founded in 2017 by Nik De Dominic and Kate Levin, PEP aims to serve systems-impacted students both on USC’s campus and in custody within California.
Ultimately, we seek to reinforce that education is a fundamental human right.
Learn more at the link in our bio! ⬆️⬆️⬆️
What IS the Prison Education Project?
The core of our work is building the prison-to-college pipeline and reinforcing the idea of education as a fundamental human right. At PEP, we host a national writing contest for systems-impacted youth and adults and publish creative writing anthologies featuring this work. We offer enrichment and for-credit courses taught by USC faculty and graduate students at transitional living and correctional facilities nationwide and internationally.
Learn more about PEP through keeping tabs on our social media @uscpep and checking out our website.
Don’t forget to apply to the Youngblood Family Fund scholarship for systems-impacted Dornsife students. See link in bio.
JOIN PEP!
Don’t miss out on our Info Session, this Thursday from 2-4PM on Zoom, to learn exactly how you 🫵 can get involved with our work.
Register with the link in our bio! We can’t wait to see you there. 😊
Education is a powerful tool that empowers our students to dream big. 🎓 🏫
Students from our La Entrada campus honed their writing skills in the @uscpep writing program, where they channeled their lived experiences to write stories in an anthology titled "The Sun Loves Me More," which the program published.
Thank you to Professors Nik De Dominic and Kate Levin for guiding out students through this process and unforgettable experience.
We’re excited to announce that the USC Prison Education Project is hiring for the 2026–2027 academic year! 🎊
If you’re a USC student passionate about expanding access to education and working with incarcerated communities, we encourage you to apply. We are currently hiring for a Communications Student Director and two Graduate Fellows. These roles offer a unique opportunity to support meaningful programming, lead outreach efforts, and engage directly with PEP’s mission. ✨📖
Graduate Fellows will help plan and host community events, represent PEP at outreach opportunities, and support program coordination, while the Communications Student Director will lead social media, marketing, and community engagement initiatives.
To apply, please submit your resume and a brief statement of interest to [email protected]. For questions or more information, feel free to reach out to the same email. Must be Work-Study Eligible for the Communications Student Director position!
Celebrating an unforgettable WRIT 320 Inside-Out Workshop! ✨
This year brought together our largest cohort yet, uniting students in a shared space of learning, creativity, and connection. It was an honor to gather on campus, hear the powerful readings from the anthology, and celebrate the work everyone poured into this experience.
Here’s to storytelling that builds bridges. Thank you all! 💛
Thank you to everyone who attended the Reform Alliance class takeover event!!! 🌟 USC students and attendees appreciated the opportunity to learn, participate, and share ideas on how students can take civic action and reform legislation in probation and parole processes and procedures. 📖
Thank you to Reform Alliance @reform and speaker Rondo for sharing such vivid insight on how students can learn from transitioning back into homes to the challenges individuals face in parole. We truly enjoyed the conversations within the classroom and insightful experiences that were shared. ❤️
Civil Rights Under Fire: A Discussion On Rights, Resistance, And The Road Ahead ⚖️
🗓️ Thursday, April 30th 2026
⏱️ 6:00PM-8:00PM
📍 THH 101
Questions? Contact [email protected].
Join us for Beyond Documentary—a screening and conversation with filmmaker Asia Johnson and a live student panel that brings lived experience, storytelling, and justice to the forefront.
🗓 Monday, April 20th
🕕 5:30–8:00 PM (UPDATED)
📍 USC – Social Work Building (MRF 102)
Support your peers, connect with others, and be part of the conversation.
✨ We’re hiring! ✨
Looking for a chill summer job to gain good office experience , flexible hours, and meaningful work? Come join our team 💌
Apply now before April 19!
At Sing Sing prison, a group of incarcerated men organize and prepare for a TED-style event, featuring personal narratives and ideas for changing the prison system. With immersive access to Sing Sing, the film follows the speakers’ emotional journeys from first audition to their final climactic moments on stage.
Produced & Directed by Asia Johnson and Michael Kleiman
Executive Produced by Clarence Maclin and JJ Velazquez
Co-Produced by Sean Pica
Please Join Us 🎬
🗓 April 20, 2026
⏰ 6:00–9:00 PM
📍 MRF Room 102
Runtime: 89 minutes | English | USA
Come watch. Come listen. Come see a different perspective.
#beyonddocumentary #prisoneducationproject
