June 21, the final day of the 2024 ACCUPLACER® conference began with attendees expressing their enjoyment following Thursday evening’s Twin Cities Riverboat Cruise. Part of the evening enjoyment was the leisurely scenic walk from the hotel to the riverboat, while a few maneuvered more quickly on scooters to reach the boarding location. The Mississippi River cruise was indeed a most pleasurable way to end an eventful conference day. During Friday morning’s plenary session, Unlocking Potential, panelists Alexa Garza (Graduate Student- Texas Women's University), Kelley Heifort (Director of Reentry Services), Belinda Wheeler (Senior Program Associate at Vera Institute of Justice), and Donna Zuniga (Associate Vice President at Lee College) inspired attendees through their meaningful work involving ACCUPLACER testing and incarcerated scholars’ educational opportunities. Educational opportunities have been shown to have a direct correlation to an individual’s successful reintegration into society thus enhancing post-release employment prospects and reducing re-incarceration rates. Special guest, Antonio Espinosa, from Art from the Inside MN shared how his organization creates the opportunity for incarcerated artists to “have a visual voice through engaging, community-centered exhibitions of their art. Our vision is to empower incarcerated artists to experience personal transformation and restoration.” Several conference attendees left with beautiful art in hand, and in turn, extended a hand to the artist from the inside. Following the Friday morning breakout sessions and the afternoon training sessions, attendees were sharing their appreciation of the conference stating that it was a great balance of networking and information, well organized, and one of the best conferences they’ve attended. We want to extend a huge ACCUPLACER “thank you” to the Minnesotans who held true to the adage “Minnesota nice,” making everyone feel welcome; and to all our presenters, our ACCUPLACER conference coordinators Sue Schmitz and Ann Tabang as well as our planning committee members Lindsay Hayes (University of South Dakota), Cindy James (Thompson Rivers University), Hans Liburd (Valencia College), and Madison Smith, M.A. (Hennepin Technical College) for their diligence in planning the 2024 ACCUPLACER conference. We look forward to seeing you next June in Austin, Texas.
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