Then & Now Series: Part I
Next year marks the 30th anniversary of the college program at San Quentin. As 2025 comes to a close, we are looking back at Mount Tamalpais College’s history through this Then & Now series.
A Witness to History
In the first edition of our Then & Now series, alumnus Raphael Calix (Class of 2008), who spent more than 20 years inside, reflects on how the College helped to reshape his life—and shift the social and cultural landscape of San Quentin.
Arriving at San Quentin
“I got to San Quentin in the mid-1980s. It was thick with blood and violence. Hyper racial violence. Riots. Stabbings. Believe it or not, the most dangerous part of a riot is not the knife that is being wielded by someone, it’s the bullets coming down from the gun towers. That’s how you really get killed or maimed. That’s the way life was for us.”
Life Before College
“I dropped out of school at a very early age. I did not make it through junior high school. Life was full of rage and anger and bitterness. Education was the last thing on my mind. I came into the prison system and found myself hopeless, believing that this is what I deserved in life—to be inside a prison. I felt a sense of belonging inside the prison system.”
Finding Purpose in Prison
“[The volunteers] brought life into our bones by starting a college program. Mount Tamalpais College gave us an avenue where we didn’t need to sink and drown in the misery of prison life. This was the first time for me that life was worth living. That writing that I did, that reading that I did, brought me back to life. Literally. I was resurrected.”
A New San Quentin
“In the 21st century we saw a flourishing of education. The College was started by individuals who wanted to help. [MTC] allowed us to take our first steps in education. Now, alumni are going for Bachelor’s, Master’s degrees. Now, we’re an asset to our community, not a liability. It’s a blessing that continues to give beyond the walls of San Quentin.”
For nearly 30 years, MTC students have helped transform the culture of San Quentin from within—proving that education is not only a path to purpose, but a force for reshaping institutions.
Please consider a gift to support new generations of students as they bring meaningful change to San Quentin and to their communities.
