Iowa GOP Governor Kim Reynolds Delivers Inspirational Speech To Prison Graduates

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds became the first Governor in state history to address a graduation ceremony in prison recently when she spoke to dozens of women receiving their high school equivalency diplomas at the Iowa Women’s Correctional Institution in Mitchellville.

Reynolds used many of her personal experiences as lessons during her speech, speaking about her own struggles and why the graduates should never give up.

The message? “Her story was not so different from many of theirs.”

Holly Harris writes in the Des Moines Register,

“…this was no ordinary graduation. It took place in a prison. And the keynote speaker was Gov. Kim Reynolds.”

“I met then-Lt. Gov. Reynolds last year to introduce her to our policy work on safely reducing prison populations and expanding re-entry programming so people leaving prison can find jobs. Reynolds urged us to visit an apprenticeship program with her that teaches incarcerated women valuable job skills. Several months later, we took her up on her offer. Only this time, she was Gov. Kim Reynolds.”

“…During her remarks, the governor urged the graduates not to let their time in prison define them, and to use their education to make better decisions when they return to society. At one point, though, she seemed to veer off script. The governor turned to look the women in the eyes, and told them of her own struggles. She spoke of overcoming an addiction to alcohol, of finally earning her degree at the age of 57, all while raising three children. Her story was not so different from many of theirs.”

“And yet here she stood, the first woman governor of Iowa.”

“The message was clear: If she could do it, so could they. You could feel the hope emanating from the graduates. You could see the pride shining in the faces of their parents, and hear the excitement in the squeals of their children.”

“I’ve worked in politics my whole life, and I’ve watched countless politicians give hundreds of speeches. I’ve even written some of them. On the way home, I started thinking about the rare person who can give a speech that changes a life. Certainly Billy Graham did it, and Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. On Sept. 28, 2017, I watched Kim Reynolds change the lives of the graduating class at the Iowa Women’s Correctional Institution.”

“I’ll never forget it.  And neither will they.”

Read the entire piece here.