The Future of Education
We Stand on the Shoulders of Giants: Mentorship Rooted in Trust, Compassion, and Empathy for Formerly Incarcerated and System-Impacted Leaders
Robert Villanueva, Pasadena City College, California (United States)
David Moore, University of Southern California, Los Angeles (United States)
Natalie Venegas, Homeboy Industries, California (United States)
Miguel Beltran, Columbia University, New York City (United States)
Abstract
This experience-based interactive workshop explores mentorship practices that support formerly incarcerated and system-impacted students navigating reentry into education and community life. Grounded in the 4 Elements rooted in Indigenous teachings, Fire, Water, Wind, and Earth, the workshop presents mentorship through the values of Willingness, Acceptance, Accountability, and Integrity. Facilitators model mentorship as a reciprocal practice centered on trust, compassion, empathy, and shared responsibility. Participants engage in guided discussions and realistic reentry scenarios focused on rebuilding confidence, managing stress, reconnecting emotionally, and navigating educational transitions after incarceration. The workshop highlights how mentorship is shaped by different identities, lived experiences, and institutional pathways, including community college, private university, and Ivy League reentry experiences. Emotional literacy is emphasized as an essential mentorship skill that helps individuals communicate openly, restore dignity, and strengthen community connection. Facilitators represent a mentorship circle rather than a traditional panel, demonstrating how lived experience, institutional knowledge, emotional care, and sociological insight can collectively support healing and growth. The workshop also examines barriers such as stigma, isolation, caregiving responsibilities, and limited access to support systems that often affect system-impacted students. Participants leave with practical mentorship strategies, renewed confidence in relationship-building, and a deeper understanding that mentorship is sustained through community care, accountability, and intergenerational support. The session contributes to broader conversations on education, student engagement, multiculturalism, and social inclusion by centering the voices and leadership of formerly incarcerated scholars and mentors.
Keywords: mentorship, reentry education, formerly incarcerated students, emotional literacy, social inclusion, student engagement
REFERENCES
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