(C) Daily Montanan This story was originally published by Daily Montanan and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . First Montana class of inmates in the Last Mile program celebrate graduation – Daily Montanan [1] ['Nicole Girten', 'More From Author', '- October'] Date: 2023-10-02 DEER LODGE – Jason Hoomalu’s father Rory and sister Aalayah attended Montana State Prison’s first coding school graduation, but someone important was missing. Hoomalu’s mother had died earlier this month of a sudden stroke. His father said the ceremony was a bittersweet moment, as she should have been there to see it. Hoomalu was part of the first cohort to graduate Thursday from the Last Mile program, which teaches coding skills to inmates about to be on probation. He said this was a program she was proud of him for participating in, a departure from some of his previous antics. “I told her about a lot of things over the years, and she always took it with a grain of salt,” Jason Hoomalu said. He said when she started to see Hoomalu taking the class seriously, asking her to order him textbooks, hearing about the hours and hours of study he put into the program, she started to see this time was different. “It really, really drives me to get out,” Hoomalu said. He said his parole starts next week. Hoomalu was one of 17 graduates of the Last Mile program, the first graduating class in Montana, who were honored in a ceremony at the Montana State Prison on Thursday. The program, implemented in prisons in seven states, teaches inmates various coding programs, all without full internet access on a secure network. Graduates leave with a portfolio of work to show potential employers or clients when they’re released. The program received funding from Gov. Greg Gianforte’s private foundation. In other states, the Last Mile boasts an 85% employment rate within six months of release, with support from “fair chance” hiring partners across multiple industries like business, media and technology. “Fair chance” hiring, according to a Montana DOC press release, is when employers hire candidates based on their skillset, as opposed to their record. The program, founded in 2010, touts nearly zero of its participants re-enter into the prison system. The program is looking to expand its class size in the Montana State Prison, but not at the Women’s prison as ​​the female offenders typically aren’t serving sentences long enough for the program, according to Department of Corrections Director Brian Gootkin. Graduate Ashcraft Clayton said he previously worked at a ski area outside Missoula for 13 years, and as one of his projects, coded a mock ski resort website featuring different ski packages, as well as a Craigslist-like website for used ski gear. It had been four years since he’d been on a computer. “I was computer literate,” he said. “But nothing like I know how to do now.” Associate Warden Scott McNeil gave the graduates a pep talk before the ceremony, which was attended by the class of inmates who were accepted to be part of the next Last Mile cohort. “This is what it’s all about,” McNeil said to the graduates of the milestone. He said they were setting the bar for the classes to follow. Bryan Guitierrez, 38, will be part of the incoming class of coding students. He previously worked as an ironworker, a career that’s hard on the body, and he said he’s getting older. He’s never worked with computers before, saying he’s a little intimidated, but he sees this program as an opportunity to try something new. He noted the confidence the first cohort gained in learning this new skill. Not everyone in the class made it to graduation day, with the class initially starting with a total of 22 students, but 17 did. Kevin McCracken, with the Last Mile, said this graduating rate is higher than their average for the program, one he said he wasn’t even sure he’d make it through due to its difficulty. Participants in the class attend five days per week from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. “It takes a lot of grit and determination, and a lot of thoughtful work,” he said. McCracken spoke before graduates and their families and was open about his own journey, saying at one point he was living out of a cardboard box in San Francisco, and now he’s the chief product officer for the Last Mile. “So I truly believe and understand that anything is possible,” he said. McCracken told the Daily Montanan about the program’s re-entry services that connect graduates with advocates to help them with housing, substance disorder treatment as well as help with the job search. He said the Last Mile has relationships with LinkedIn Learning and other coding programs like Front End Masters for graduates to continue their education. Teaching assistants for the next class have already been selected from the current graduating class, McCracken said. Having graduates who have gone on to do great things come and speak to them, and be involved in their instruction, was inspiring for graduate Adam Wilson. “They’re always on common ground — we can relate with you because you were a prisoner as well,” he said. Wilson said he’s hopeful for opportunities to come, be it furthering his education or taking another opportunity. Wilson said during his speech before his classmates that he initially applied for the program from the high security side of the facility. He said when he was a kid he used to finish projects, but as an adult, not so much. “Upon the completion of this class, I finished something other than a prison sentence,” he said. 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