Palmer, 46, of Camden, is one of 12 students participating in Princeton University’s annual summer internship program for formerly incarcerated college students.
“What we’re trying to do is support formerly incarcerated undergraduates to pursue their dreams,” said Jill Stockwell, director of the Prison Teaching Initiative at Princeton University.
Since Princeton began supporting formerly incarcerated interns from institutions around the country in 2017 through the Prison Teaching Initiative (PTI), the program has expanded to include three divisions, two of which are STEM-focused. Princeton’s Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Training Site program, which launched in 2021 in partnership with the National Science Foundation, is the only site of its kind for formerly incarcerated students in the U.S.
“We see ourselves as providing maybe a particular emphasis in STEM because the barrier to entry is so high there that we see ourselves as getting kind of an extra boost there,” Stockwell said.
This summer, PTI launched a new program called Coding Foundations of Research that teaches interns the fundamentals of computer programming.
“We meet everyone where they are in terms of whatever computer skills they have,” Stockwell said. “By the end of two weeks, you’re coding…and then the rest of the summer is learning about applications of coding in a variety of fields.”
Palmer participated in the REU program last summer, where he conducted electrical engineering research. He returned to Princeton this summer to take part in Coding Foundations of Research, which he hopes will equip him with a skillset he can apply to future endeavors — including his own nonprofit.
According to Stockwell, the internships connect students with a variety of campus resources and the option to live on campus for the duration of the program. Interns are also paired with a Princeton University alumni mentor who has spent decades in the industry they plan to pursue.
“When you’re formerly incarcerated, one of the things that’s happened is that your network has been knocked out and you haven’t had the opportunity to build one,” Stockwell said. “When people leave here at the end of the summer, they’ll not only leave with the skills, the experience, the confidence, the network they gain here, but also with a mentor who is going to support their entry into the career of their choosing.”
“All the information isn’t going to stick with you,” said Paul Boyd, 46, of Camden. “That isn’t the point of the experience. The point of the experience is the network you built with people who normally wouldn’t.”
Boyd, who is participating in his second summer internship at Princeton, recently became the first Rutgers-Camden student to be awarded the prestigious Harry S. Truman scholarship.
For Boyd, his experiences in the program have allowed him to tap into his potential. After graduating from Rutgers-Camden with his Bachelor’s degree next spring, Boyd plans to pursue a PhD, he said.
“This sort of thing keeps me motivated to keep going, push past any boundaries that I put on myself,” Boyd said.
Eric Harbinson, 41, of Mount Laurel started his college journey in The New Jersey Scholarship and Transformative Education in Prisons (NJ-STEP) initiative while serving nine and half years in prison. After earning his associate’s degree from Raritan Valley Community College through the program, he transitioned to Rutgers University-New Brunswick, where he is majoring in human resource management.
This summer, Harbinson is working in Princeton’s human resources department through the Aspiring Scholars and Professionals (ASAP) internship program, where students conduct research within the humanities and qualitative social sciences field. He is also helping to instruct an REU program remotely focused on biophysics that he previously participated in abroad.
“I think people take you more seriously when they see Princeton on your resume,” Harbinson said. “And that helps us balance the scales. We have a criminal background we’re competing with, so anything to help bolster that is huge.”
According to Stockwell, the university is collaborating with other programs and higher education institutions to create inclusive spaces for formerly incarcerated students on a broader scale. This summer, PTI is supporting REU internships for formerly incarcerated undergraduate students at San Francisco State University, Tulane University and Howard University.
“I would like to see an aspect of this program in every college, university,” said Christopher Etienne, PTI student engagement coordinator. “I think given just the expansion of mass incarceration it’s our duty, our responsibility, to do so.”
“As we expand higher education in prison, we will also see the necessary expansion of education for formerly incarcerated students,” Stockwell added.
Ali Muslim, PTI summer program assistant, is working with other programs to develop a toolkit of resources for previously incarcerated individuals seeking higher education and internships. Muslim, who was formerly incarcerated, participated in Princeton’s ASAP internship program in 2022, and the REU internship program in 2023, before graduating from Rutgers University-Camden with honors in May.
“I know how hard it is to come from an incarcerated space to society and people look at you as if you just committed your crime yesterday,” Muslim said. “This program is fantastic. … Coming from an incarcerated space after doing decades in prison, you’re learning, and you’re being paid to learn.”
Associate professor Bridgett vonHoldt, who leads the REU program, said one of the most rewarding parts of the job is witnessing the transformation in students’ confidence over the summer. The 9-week program pairs students with a faculty mentor to conduct computational biology research.
“The impact for me is just on day one seeing how overwhelmed everyone is, and as we go through the summer together, that the confidence is built, and their ability to take on challenges that they never anticipated could be available to them,” vonHoldt said.
“Just the fact that they’re stepping onto Princeton’s campus, as I’ve heard firsthand from many of them, that’s lifechanging.”
Harbinson said his experiences in the program have helped him grow his self-confidence and develop professionally. “Before I went to prison, I never would have imagined I’d be sitting here now doing the things that we’re doing at Princeton,” he said.
“These programs add onto your success level and put you in a position to go on to do better things, real things,” Palmer said. “It bolstered my drive and desire to do great things and to be impactful on others.”
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