As Dionntai Holyfield prepares to graduate from Wheaton College with a degree in psychology, his path looks like that of many seniors — graduate school applications and plans for what comes next. But his journey to this moment is anything but typical: Holyfield spent 16 years in prison before ever stepping onto campus.
“What I want people to know about me is that I’m not an anomaly — there are other guys in prison like me,” Holyfield said.
His day-to-day life as an undergraduate student at Wheaton is also unique. When Holyfield walks the stage for graduation, his wife, Christine, will be in the audience holding their baby, Titus. Holyfield’s days start around 4 a.m. to feed his son before reading Scripture, praying and doing homework. According to Holyfield, this reality would have been unimaginable without the care of a prison chaplain several years ago…