CINCINNATI — For almost two months, NKU Associate Professor Mark Leeman has helped lead a public speaking class for a group of inmates inside the River City Correctional Center.
The students celebrated their hard work and dedication with a graduation ceremony on Wednesday, alongside university staff.
"I've seen your voices honed, because working on your voice is working on your soul," Leeman said to the students.
Leeman tells me the group started with almost 40 people, but ended with 21 students getting a certificate for completing the seven-week course.
The work began by helping students come out of their comfort zone and try a skill that may be outside their comfort zone.
Watch to hear how improving public speaking has impacted a group of inmates:
"Speaking loudly, confidently and making eye contact — that's the delivery stuff that we work on in the beginning," Leeman said.
Almost two months later, the 21 inmates had grown in their ability to deliver speeches and handle a crowd.
"It's just opened me up," Green said.
Not only helping their physical skills, but also boosting their self-esteem.
"It just really boosted my confidence and my morale, and it assured me that once I get out of here, I can actually go back to normal," Ware said.
"It gave me the confidence I need to be able to speak to people and speak to crowds," Johnson said.
Wednesday's graduation event included students receiving a special certificate. A handful of the inmates gave a speech to the crowd.
Topics were pulled from various reading materials that the inmates were given, since they can't research online, according to Leeman.
While this course has come to an end, Leeman told me that it may be able to give these inmates a head start if they choose to continue their education at NKU in the future.
"The deal we worked out was if they did this part, if they come to NKU and they take public speaking, either I'll work with them or somebody from our department," Leeman said. "So they've got, probably, a little over half the course done."
One of the students said that she has dreams of furthering her education and possibly giving back to the facility she's now in.
"I do want to go back to college, perhaps major in social work or psychology, and maybe, in turn, come back here and use those skills," said Ware.
