NEW JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — While serving 10 years in prison for armed robbery, Paul Boyd of Ocean City, New Jersey, decided he would not let that mistake define him.
“I was blessed with intelligence. And I know this, and I just couldn't for the life of me understand why did I make these decisions? And how did I get to this place where I allowed this to happen?” Boyd said.
While serving his sentence, Paul enrolled in NJ-STEP, a program that allows incarcerated people to earn college credits. Through this program, the 46-year-old father of three earned his associate’s degree and became a teacher's aide, where he fell in love with teaching.
“I didn't go into that program thinking that that was going to be as transformative as it was, as it turned out to be. I was literally just trying to fulfill a dream.”
Boyd is currently enrolled at Rutgers University–Camden, where he is working toward a Ph.D. in philosophy. The university recently awarded him the Harry S. Truman Scholarship, for aspiring public service leaders in the United States.
He is the first Rutgers-Camden student to earn this award and the 16th Rutgers University student to receive it since the scholarship program was created in 1975.
“This is huge. It is absolutely huge for Rutgers University and Camden, and equally for Paul. It's a testament to the type of development that we are doing with our undergraduate students,” said Dr. Antonio D. Tillis, chancellor at Rutgers-Camden.
Boyd’s ultimate goal is to teach at the university level and work for a program that supports incarcerated individuals interested in pursuing higher education.