NextThreeDays: Event Display

2023 Humanities Week Keynote: From Jail to Yale
Venue: Haymarket Theater (Squires), Blacksburg
Directions: Google Map Link
Date: Wednesday, October 25, 2023
Time: 6:00 - 7:00 PM
Event Types: Speaking Engagements
Cost: Free

Sponsored Content:

Feature Your Company/Event Here

Description:
The Virginia Tech Center for Humanities and the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences presents the 2023 Humanities Week Keynote titled "From Jail to Yale: Education is Humanization in the Carceral Context and Beyond" on Wednesday, October 25, 2023 inside the Haymarket Theater located within the Squires Student Center on the campus of Virginia Tech.

George Chochos’s keynote address, "From Jail to Yale: Education is Humanization in the Carceral Context and Beyond" will focus on prison education initiatives and the power of a humanities education. Nearly 12 years after entering prison, George Chochos emerged with a renewed sense of purpose and four college degrees.

George Chochos is a senior program associate with Vera, a social justice organization. A skillful, charismatic speaker who understands personally the value of humanities education, Chochos earned a graduate humanities degree from Yale University.

Chochos struggled with trauma and addiction throughout his 20s. After several stints in jail, a string of bank robberies led to his felony conviction and lengthy prison sentence in New York. About a year into his sentence, Chochos vowed to walk a new path through education. He learned about a competitive prison education program called the Bard Prison Initiative. From a pool of 150 applicants, only 15 were granted admission to the program.

Chochos secured one of the coveted spots.

Within a few years, Chochos had turned his focus to urban economics and sociology research, engaged with prolific scholars, and learned how to critique theory.

By 2010, Chochos had earned an associates and two bachelor's degrees. He then completed his master's degree in Urban Ministry from New York Theology Seminary after receiving high marks on his 162-page thesis.

Following his release from prison, Chochos gained acceptance to Yale Divinity School. He graduated with a second master's degree in the humanities in 2016.

Admission is free and open to the public.

Virginia Tech Humanities Week highlights the essential work happening in the humanities at Virginia Tech and around the world. Members of the Virginia Tech community and beyond are invited to attend panel discussions, Q&As, and more interactive activities throughout the weeklong celebration set for October 22-27, 2023.

The Haymarket Theater is located within the Squires Student Center at 290 College Avenue in Blacksburg, VA on the campus of Virginia Tech.

To view the event flyer, visit: https://i.postimg.cc/0yngs9Xs/image.png.

For more information, visit: https://news.vt.edu/articles/2023/09/from-prison-to-the-ivy-league--george-chochos-to-deliver-humanit.html or https://liberalarts.vt.edu/humanities-week.html or https://www.facebook.com/VTLiberalArts/.