Interning at Inside-Out: Six Questions for Molly Gibbons

With funding from the Mellon Foundation, LC student Molly Gibbons completed the inaugural Inside-Out Internship over Summer and Fall of 2022. Molly is a History major and Hispanic Studies minor from Missoula MT who plans to graduate in Spring ’24.

“This internship was one of the most informative and valuable work and educational experiences I have had,” she said. Read on to find out why.

1. Why were you drawn to the Inside-Out internship?

I was initially interested in the Inside-Out internship because of what I heard about Reiko Hillyer’s history class she teaches through the Inside-Out program. I have been able to learn so much through interning, and I hope to continue learning from those involved with Inside-Out in a class in the future.

I began learning about prison abolition from my older sister. She taught me a lot about principles of restorative justice, and because of her I worked as a camp counselor at a camp that utilized restorative justice as a way to solve conflict between campers. I have since been able to incorporate restorative justice practices into my life, and would love to continue reimagining an alternative to incarceration using restorative justice.

2. What is your work as an Inside Out intern?

As an Inside-Out intern I worked directly with Eilene Frierson, who organizes many aspects of the Instructor Training, including reaching out to prospective and confirmed participants. A lot of the work is office work, updating spreadsheets, sending emails, and making charts. Outside of the office work, I also had the opportunity to assist in one of the Instructor Trainings, which has been one of the most informative and valuable work and educational experiences I have had.

…One of the most informative and valuable work and educational experiences I have had.

3. Describe your experience assisting in the training. How has this experience changed you or shaped your own perspectives?

As the assistant I supported the facilitators, Lori and Dave, with the tech aspects of the training since it was on zoom. I was also considered a participant in the training alongside the professors and instructors. As a student, the thought of participating in the training with people who have PhDs was intimidating, but the environment that was created by Lori, Dave, and the other participants was so positive. They made me feel not only included, but like my input and experiences were valuable additions to the conversation. This experience gave me so much more confidence in academic settings, which is something that I am beyond grateful for.

Since this training was set up to reflect what an Inside-Out class actually looks and feels like, I had the opportunity to not only learn from and alongside instructors and professors, but also “coaches,” who are formerly incarcerated folks who now work with Inside-Out. Working with and learning from the coaches was such an incredible way to begin breaking down barriers, and has had such a large impact on me.

This experience reminded me that although we all make mistakes, people who have been incarcerated are often defined by that experience or mistake, whereas on the outside we are often given space to learn and grow from our mistakes. I think that giving students the opportunity and space to connect with each other in this setting helps us all grow into more empathetic people, which is necessary if we hope to create a change in this world.

This experience gave me so much more confidence in academic settings, which is something that I am beyond grateful for.

4. What have you learned from the Inside-Out internship?

There is so much more behind the scenes work that is often overlooked, but there are real people working so hard to make things like this possible. Through working as an intern for Inside-Out I have been able to work on many of the skills employers for entry level jobs are looking for, including online communication skills (especially now that virtual work is far more common), as well as gaining confidence in navigating new software.

Additionally, I had the chance to learn things that I normally would not have even thought were important to learn. For example, people who take the instructor training learn about, like how to navigate the bureaucratic systems in place both in high education institutions as well as correctional facilities.

5. Who would you recommend to apply for this internship in future?

Because a lot of the work I did as an intern was office work, I think having your personal values align with the mission of Inside-Out is really important. Feeling passionately about abolition and community care made the office work that I was doing feel more purposeful because I felt like the work that I was doing was ultimately contributing to a program that is taking a step toward breaking down barriers between incarcerated folks and those on the outside, which I think will help to create a stronger community.

6. How does this experience connect with your other roles and work at LC?

At first I did not necessarily think that this work would connect with my other work and passions in life, but when reflecting about this experience I have realized that many things are connected.

At Lewis & Clark, I have also worked as a peer facilitator for Consent Conversations and NSO Sexual Heath and Consent. Sexual health and consent peer education is something that I am extremely passionate about and I found it to be quite interesting to connect with what I learned through Inside-Out.

During the instructor training I attended one of the things discussed was entrance procedure to correctional facilities. There does not seem to be much respect for consent in those spaces, including being patted down upon arrival, which is something that would likely be shocking for students and instructors when first entering, however in some cases this lack of respect for consent comes to be a reality for those who are experiencing incarceration.

This is just one example of the ways in which the work that I have been engaging with is interconnected, and I think that this demonstrates the way in which many of these social issues people are discussing on the outside are also experienced by those on the inside, often on a much more intense scale.

ABOUT THIS PROGRAM

With support from Mellon Foundation, the Center for Community and Global Health is expanding the Inside-Out courses offered by Lewis & Clark College. Inside-Out brings fifteen people incarcerated at the Columbia River Correctional Institution and fifteen undergraduate students together in courses taught by Lewis & Clark faculty. Find out more about Inside-Out Instructor Training Faculty Grant applications.