Caylen's & Shaqun's Story

Caylen Bryant

“I kept failing statistics and probability, as well as numbers and quantity, and Caylen was a huge help to me. I ultimately passed the test. I hope that Petey Greene continues to come to Northern State Prison to help because it really helped me.” – Shaqun

Shaqun, an incarcerated student at Northern State Prison, struggled with math. Although he had already passed all the other subjects on the first try, he had failed the math portion of the high school equivalency test twice. Many incarcerated students struggle with this part of the test, as it is the most challenging section. Passing this portion would award Shaqun his GED and enable him to enroll in college-level courses.

Caylen Bryant, a professional musician and community volunteer with the Petey Greene Program, could relate to his struggle with math skills, as her own strength was in language arts. However, for two semesters, Shaqun and Caylen met weekly to review and prepare for the math test. On his third attempt, Shaqun passed the test and earned his GED.

When Caylen and Shaqun met after the exam, she was surprised to see math worksheets spread across the table. Shaqun was so inspired by his success in overcoming his challenge that he now wanted to excel at math. Having finally passed the exam, his next goal was to provide a resource to his fellow students who continued to struggle, a resource that he didn’t have before his individual tutoring with Caylen. The Petey Greene experience not only supported Shaqun to achieve academically, but also inspired him to improve the outcomes for his fellow incarcerated students.