Bachelor of Liberal ArtsProgram Spotlight: Lisa Rohn

Incarcerated for over 30 years, Lisa Rohn had two choices: let time pass her by or take control of it. She chose the latter.

Education became her escape, her challenge, and her way forward. She participated in numerous academic programs prior to joining Georgetown. By the time she joined the Bachelor of Liberal Arts (BLA) program at Patuxent Institution in fall 2022, she already had 21 credits, but Georgetown’s program was unlike anything she had experienced before.

“It was challenging, but fantastic,” she says. Her first semester was intense, filled with writing and philosophy classes, which required her to think in new ways. “It was nice to see and hear all the different viewpoints. In some way, it felt like being on campus.”

Rohn enjoyed the various classes offered by Georgetown. She loved learning about how cities function structurally and how that structure shapes the way people live. She was fascinated by The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy, a book that opened her eyes to the unseen forces behind everyday consumerism. Writing and Culture, taught by Professor Elizabeth Velez, became another favorite.

Rohn recalls Statistics being the hardest subject. “I remember my first interview before joining the program. I told them I was looking for a challenge. And I got the challenge I asked for.”

Reentry was a new kind of challenge. Still burdened by the stigma of incarceration, Rohn had to navigate a new environment.  “It’s hard enough coming out into the world with this stigma.” But Georgetown’s name carried weight. “One employer was impressed,” she says, acknowledging that the degree-in-progress gave her credibility in a world that often writes people like her off.

Looking back, she knows the program did more than give her an education — it gave her a connection to the outside world. “It helped my transition out to have those moments in classes and study hall, to be emotionally and intellectually removed from where I was.” It showed her what was possible.

Rohn isn’t finished. “I want to continue my education,” she says, because now, after everything, she finally has the freedom to choose her own path.