Last night Priscilla Hutton was telling the youth group at her Catholic church about her work in the prisons.  In the course of her presentation, Priscilla shared this letter from Donna Stites, an inmate at the Indiana Women’s Prison in Indianapolis.  A few weeks ago I introduced you to Donna’s amazing story after I visited her in prison.  Below, Donna tells her own story. 

Priscilla Hutton with Donna Stites

To All Who Listen:

My name is Donna Kaye Stites and I have been incarcerated in the Indiana Department of corrections for over 25 years. I want to talk to you about my experience with going to school and the importance of getting an education.

When I was in grade school, I was considered a bully and I hated school. I acted out, for the most part, because I was ashamed of my being poor. I felt like I was not good enough. That hurt me and my anger came from those feelings. I was living with my father and his wife on a farm.

When I got to middle school, my financial circumstances changed. I was living with my mother and step-father, who was a wealthy business owner. However, I still hated school. I thought it was a waste of time. I had better things to do with my life, like selling drugs for my mother and hanging out with the older crowds.

I was doing drugs and drinking heavily by the time I entered high school. I was having sex and doing things like shoplifting and credit card theft throughout my high school years. I simply thought that school was not for me. I was in Girls’ School twice, did prison time and was in a work release center before being sent back prison for the final time. I have now been in prison, continuously, since I turned 21.

When I turned 30 years old, I decided things in my life needed to change. I made a list of six changes that I thought would help me. They are as follows:

• Stop doing drugs

• Stop smoking

• Resolve the issues between my mother and me

• Resolve a dysfunctional relationship

• Take better care of my health (I am a brittle diabetic)

• Go to college

I started my first year of college when I was 32 years old. I felt very intimidated and stupid. I felt like I was going to quit at least a hundred times, however, I stuck with it and at the end of my first semester, I had gotten all A’s and B’s on my report card. My GPA was 3.5. I was one point from making the Dean’s List and I couldn’t have been prouder of myself.   Even now I am smiling just thinking about it.

After that experience, I decided to make the Dean’s list (my seventh goal) every semester. I received an Associates Degree with academic distinction and I got my Bachelor’s degree with honors. I finished Ball State with having been on the Dean’s List every semester after the first.

I want to encourage you to do the best you can in school now and to continue your education after high school. I am not an old person, I am not someone’s mom, and I am not getting paid to tell you about getting educated. I am someone who has had their life changed for the better as a result of getting educated. Education opened doors for me that had never been opened before. I found out who I was. I don’t believe I could make the sound decisions that I make now without having been educated. I believe that formal education with a solid scriptural foundation is the best way for you to not get caught up in the distractions, like I was. I have a lot of regrets, but getting my college degrees is not one of them.

There’s nothing more important than you taking care of you: your mind, your body and your spirit. It is all you have in the end.

Let God bless you with all that has your name on it. Don’t cheat yourself out of what’s yours and what’s you.

Peace,

Donna Kaye Stites

Inmate at Indiana Women’s Prison

Indianapolis, Indiana