5‑Year Anniversary Feature Article
A Day of Impact, History, and Healing
On June 27, Excell Network celebrated its five‑year anniversary with a powerful and historic event at Alcatraz Island as part of the Formerly Incarcerated Speaker Series (FISS). Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of the National Park Service, Excell Network received 50 complimentary tickets, allowing students, families, volunteers, and community partners to experience a day that will not soon be forgotten.
APPRECIATION FROM RUSS PETERSON
I deeply appreciated the opportunity to support the Excell Network students on their trip to Alcatraz. The Incarcerated Speaker Series was an amazing event offering a unique perspective! And I learned something new about each of the participants even though I have heard them speak at other events. Alcatraz was equally impressive. The venue and displays highlighting mass incarceration were so well curated. It presented a complex history in easy-to-understand ways and revealed the true course of our Criminal Justice System. Wow! A very impactful way to present this information. It was a great day on “The Rock!”
Regards,
Russ Peterson
Photo courtesy of Jack Mootz
Excell Network students at Alcatraz – Formerly Incarcerated Speaker Series stage.
TEN VOICES OF TRANSFORMATION
Ten Excell Network students shared powerful testimonies of resilience, faith, and renewal:
John Schoppe Rico · John Cunningham Jr. · Alexia Saavedra · Mariah Cenea · Thomas Wynn · Clinton Moore · Billie Le · Boualay Sengsavang · Louis Calvin · Wayne Jordan
Louis Calvin
Clinton Moore
Bo Sengsavang
Mariah Cenea
Alexia Saavedra
Thomas Wynn
Pull-Quotes from Student Speakers
John Cunningham
“When we tell our stories with honesty and hope, we create space for others to heal, connect, and believe that change is possible.”
Billie Le
“It was truly an honor to be part of this event and to represent the power of second chances alongside such an inspiring community.”
Wayne Jordan
“Your decision to allow us a safe space to speak will be remembered for a long time.”
VOICES FROM THE ROCK
Photo courtesy of Jack Mootz
“At the end of the presentation, I felt confident that each student would be successful in their studies and work lives.”
— Chuck Marqueling
“Their stories of transformation — from anger, addiction, and incarceration to finding love, joy, and belonging — were very powerfully articulated.”
— Madeline L. McKay
“As a man who spent 39 years in prison… I want to thank you with deepest gratitude for that opportunity to affect people and present my story.”
— Thomas Wynn
Read All Reflections
MOMENTS OF RECONCILIATON
Hello, my name is John M Schoppe-Rico. I wanted to thank National Parks and its amazing staff for the opportunity to attend the incarceration series event. I was very pleased with the event and staff. I wanted to say thank you for believing in
us and allowing us to share our testimony and inform people about Julio and the Excell Network and how it is giving back and helping to better lives and community. I was given the opportunity to make amends with family members that I invited to attend the event. Family members and kids I hadn’t seen in many years due to my incarceration. They enjoyed the event and the testimonies.Thank you for the support and helping us to restore dignity on all levels and thank you to the Excel Network and its staff for all they do, and making this possible.Sincerely,
Mr. John Schoppe-Rico
Excell Network Student
Photo courtesy of Jack Mootz
Excell Network students at Alcatraz Island – Formerly Incarcerated Speaker Series stage.
A POETIC REFLECTION
Alcatraz Rose
A poem written inspired by my life and restorative justice and this event at Alcatraz. Bo Sengsavang
On the Rock where concrete swallowed years, a forgotten rose pushed through the ruin; bright red, stubborn, unextinguished, a life that refused extinction. I know that story in my bones. A boy thrown into the darkest cell, yet somehow still rooted held up by chance, by spirit, by the rare kindness of gardeners who see potential in broken ground. Like that rose, I rose. Not because the soil was gentle, but because resilience is a wild thing. It grows where it shouldn’t, it blooms when no one is watching, it survives the random storms of poverty, punishment, and fate. Now I stand on Alcatraz, a former lifer speaking life, proof that restoration is real: that even in the hardest places, something living waits to be found and with good hands, good systems, good people…it blooms again.
Sincerely,
— Bo Sengsavang
Excell Network Student
“Gratitude to Our Partners”
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the FISS Planning Committee: Siena Hinshelwood · Ashley Borrego · Troy Williams · John Moran
And to the National Park Service and Alcatraz Island staff for their generosity, hospitality, and commitment to creating a welcoming environment for our students and community.