Tyronda Ferrell

What drew you to the Pivot Program?

My big goal in life is to have a nonprofit, targeting mental illness through dance, particularly for youth. You can shape their mental health in a more positive way than adults to prevent them from being in sticky situations. So when I heard about Georgetown, I was like, “Okay, they are teaching me how to become a better speaker and grasp the concept of how to have a business. How to network. Educating me more on the outline of creating this business. Sign me up!”

What are your interests outside of the program?

I love music, and I write poetry in my free time. I started writing music when I was nine, and I started to write poetry when I’m incarcerated. That’s the time for you to reflect on yourself, so that’s when I wrote the most. I have music out right now under my stage name, Lime. I’m also outgoing and I love public speaking.

How do you see yourself moving forward?

Since coming home, I’ve always said that it’s not what you did to get incarcerated, it’s what you do when you get out that matters. That’s what your character is, not why you went in. Your character’s what you’re gonna do to show people that that’s not you. The newspaper’s not you. Your crime is not you. It’s what you’re doing now.