This panel discussion will focus on the value of prison education programs and the challenges facing formerly incarcerated people as they re-enter society. Featuring alum Stephanie Iasiello (2012, English and Black Studies), an ACLS/Mellon Public Fellow at the Alliance for Higher Education in Prison as moderator. Panelists will include Shannon Smith (a student at Life University) and Gloria Parks (a student at Georgia State University) who will speak about their experiences with higher education while incarcerated, the challenges they are facing post-incarceration, structural inequalities they face, and decarceration strategies.