What We Believe

Mission

UPWARD prepares justice-involved students with the academic credentials, technical skills, and personal foundation to return home ready: for work, for family, and for the kind of life they want to build next.

Original: To empower and transform justice-involved students with the knowledge, skills and opportunities necessary for personal growth and successful reentry into their communities through the UPWARD program's comprehensive education and developmental initiatives.

Section: Vision

A Nebraska where no one's future is closed by their past. Where a person leaving prison has the same access to higher education as a person leaving high school. Where the question we ask of incarcerated Nebraskans isn't what did you do but what comes next, and the answer is built on real preparation, not hope alone.

Original: Our vision is to create a community where every student, regardless of their past, has the chance to rise above their circumstances. We envision the UPWARD program as a source of hope and transformation, equipping participants with the tools and mindset needed to break the cycle of involvement in the justice system and engage with their families, communities, and workforce in meaningful ways.

Section: Values

• Our students are students. We meet them with the same expectations, rigor, and respect we bring to every SCC classroom.
• We measure what we do — credentials, persistence, employment, re-offense rates — and we publish it. Data-informed isn't a brand trait we borrow; it's how we hold ourselves accountable.
• The work happens because NDCS, SCC, employers, foundations, and community partners each show up and do their part. None of us could do it alone.
• The long view. Education changes a life trajectory, not a single semester. We're committed to that timeline and the people walking it.
• From surviving to building. The phrase comes from our dean, Amy Doty, who knows it firsthand. It's the work UPWARD exists to make possible.