Graduation season reached Rikers Island this week as 57 students from East River Academy received their high school diplomas and GEDs during a commencement ceremony that featured remarks from Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Addressing the graduates on Tuesday, Mamdani praised the students for persevering despite difficult circumstances.
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“Many of you arrived on Rikers in a cloud of uncertainty and despair,” he said. “The future felt very grim, indeed. And yet you did not surrender to that alienation. You were not overcome by the adversity that lay before you. Instead, you chose to continue moving forward. You chose to pursue your education, to stick with it, even on your lowest days.”
East River Academy serves incarcerated young adults between the ages of 18 and 21, providing opportunities to earn high school diplomas or GEDs while awaiting trial or other legal resolutions.
Graduate Elijah Smith said enrolling in the school transformed his perspective.
“As I started going to school, I felt liberated. I felt like I was making my own choices, a decision that wasn’t decided by anybody in uniform, or anybody else for that matter,” he told fellow graduates.
Although he completed his studies three months ago, Smith said he repeatedly sought permission to return to the classroom to mentor other students and advocate for a paid tutoring programme.
“When you graduate, you’re not supposed to keep going to the school floor,” Smith told NY1. “But I begged the captain because I wanted to help people. I wanted people to graduate with me.”
Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels announced that he would launch a new leadership initiative aimed at expanding mentorship opportunities for East River Academy students, saying he was inspired after meeting Smith.
“I asked myself, ‘What can I do more? If he can do this, there’s much more that I can do as chancellor,’” Samuels said.
Mamdani singled out Smith for praise, describing him as “an inspiration for his fellow classmates, pushing both himself and his peers to strive for more.”
Smith said the recognition meant a great deal.
“I didn’t honestly think he would be here, but it helped. Someone cares about the incarcerated individuals in this jail,” he said.
Smith, who is being held on attempted robbery and assault charges, said he hopes to resolve his case and pursue a career as an emergency medical technician.
“Everybody here wants to change,” he said. “School is definitely a part of change. With your education, you could change a lot. You could change the world.”
The graduates are facing a variety of charges and remain presumed innocent while awaiting trial or other outcomes. The class valedictorian, who faces attempted murder charges after prosecutors allege he pushed a man onto subway tracks in Brooklyn, told attendees that learning to control his anger and accept responsibility for his actions had helped him achieve academic success.
The ceremony highlighted the role education can play in rehabilitation and personal growth, even within the city’s jail system.
