Together We Climb: 30th Anniversary Gala
On April 18, Mount Tamalpais College celebrated 30 years of teaching, learning, and transformation at San Quentin. View highlights from the celebration, read the full Event Recap, and explore press coverage from Haute Living and Liberté Press.
Gala Highlights
Featured Speakers
Dr. Jody Lewen
MTC President
“A basic founding premise of this college is that all people—no matter what they’ve done, where they are, and where they might be in the future, must be allowed to learn.”
Alyssa Tamboura
Daughter of an MTC Alumnus
“The promise of change—of education pursued for knowledge, purpose and possibility—is the spark that MTC lights in the hearts and souls of those it reaches.”
Sha Stepter
MTC Alumnus and Trustee
“The College has been in my life for almost two decades now, and has had a huge hand not only in my higher education journey, but also in my personal growth.”
Short Film Premiere
More Than A Degree: The Impact of Higher Education at San Quentin
Premiering at MTC’s 30th Anniversary Gala, More Than a Degree is a short film featuring the voices of students and alumni across three decades of the College at San Quentin. Their reflections offer a glimpse of the profound—and often unexpected—ways that rigorous, in-person higher education in prison can impact people’s lives. The film was created by k r i s f i l m s in collaboration with Mount Tamalpais College.
Reflecting on 30 Years of Transformation
Explore Mount Tamalpais College's Then & Now series, reflecting on three decades of higher education inside San Quentin—and look ahead to what comes next.
A Letter from the President
In a Letter from the President, Dr. Jody Lewen reflects on Mount Tamalpais College’s earliest days inside San Quentin—honoring the students, faculty, and supporters whose leadership made the College possible from the very beginning.
Part I: A Witness to History
Alumnus Raphael Calix (Class of 2008), who spent more than 20 years inside, reflects on how Mount Tamalpais College helped to reshape his life—and shift the social and cultural landscape of San Quentin.
