On July 23, 2023, Marvella Collins was convicted on multiple counts of sales and possession of narcotics. She was sentenced to 22 months at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Shakopee. It was there she was first introduced to Minnesota State University’s Scholars Serving Time program.
“It was in the memo of the day (asking) if you wanted to sign up and try to get your associate’s degree. I took a chance, and they accepted me, which I was really happy about,” Collins said.
She says she started the program in December 2023, completing the program this July with an associate’s in liberal arts.
“I needed to change my life and make it better, and that was the first step forward to doing it,” Collins said.
Vicki Hunter is a sociology professor at MSU and is the program director for Scholars Serving Time. She says that giving people at the facility a chance at a fresh start is what makes the program so vital.
“I think, just from a human perspective, it’s important to provide opportunities for all people to help themselves grow and develop their potential,” Hunter said. “But in a more practical sense, it is important because most of the individuals who are incarcerated are going to get out … and be our neighbors. … We should want them to be able to have happy lives that contribute to their families and to Minnesota.”
The program began in 2021, but Hunter has been working with those at the facility since 2008. In the time the program has been around, it’s grown exponentially, from graduating 10 students in 2023 to 26 this summer.
And the program isn’t just getting more attention from inside the facility. In 2024, the keynote speaker was Minnesota first lady Gwen Walz. In 2025, it was Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan. That’s an indication, Hunter said, of how much support this program is getting.
“Getting a degree for students in general is a big deal, but I would say for students in this population, it’s mind blowing for them. Many of them never envisioned themselves as college students, and then they get into the program and realize that they’re incredibly bright,” Hunter said. “It’s extraordinary for them and for their families. And I think it’s especially great for kids, because we know that when parents get degrees, their children are far more likely to get degrees.”
Collins was one of those graduates with children — three kids in their 30s — and setting a good example for them was a big motivator for her.
“It gives me hope and also it’s showing my kids that it’s never too late to pull your act together and stay in line,” she said.
Collins was one of the students in the program who started their studies while incarcerated and then finished once they were released. Students like those, Hunter said, are in need of more support from the program.
“I think that’s an important population that we miss. I mean, a lot of the students, maybe they don’t finish while they’re at the prison, but many of them do finish once they get out. I think it really shows the tenacity of our students,” Hunter said.
Now, with an associate’s degree and released from the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Shakopee, Collins is working on turning her life around. She’s working two jobs in Rochester, all while studying to get her bachelor’s degree in drug and alcohol counseling.
“I’ve been in recovery for a little over two years, I want to be able to help other people and show them that they can come out the other side and be OK,” Collins said.
She adds that in December she will be able to walk across the stage, graduating magnum cum laude and finally obtain the degree she completed this summer. And she’ll be receiving more than just a diploma.
“I was just really happy to take the program because it’s changing my life completely,” Collins said. “It gives people a second chance. … It gives us hope.”