Pathways to Freedom Coordinator Jay Lively’s job comes with its fair share of challenges. Lively wears many hats, among them helping to manage and plan A-B Tech’s prison education programming; writing and reporting on grants; and working directly with 35 curriculum students as a career counselor and advisor. Lively was recognized for his work by the NC Department of Adult Education with a Starfish Award last fall for helping A-B Tech students in correctional facilities to stay on track in the wake of Hurricane Helene.
According to Brooke Wheeler, Senior Director of Education and Programs Services at the NC Department of Adult Correction, the Starfish Award recognizes staff in prison education who go above and beyond through mentorship, innovation, compassion, or service. Thirty-five others were nominated in 2025 across the state.
In September 2024 – a year and a half into his role – Lively worked to manage A-B Tech prison programming after Helene caused mass power outages and water shortages in local prisons. Within days of the hurricane, A-B Tech students at the Western Correctional Center for Women and Craggy Correctional Center for Men were evacuated to other facilities across the state, including Anson Correctional Institution in Polkton, NC Correctional Institution for Women in Raleigh, and Alexander Correctional Institution in Taylorsville. Many of the students were expecting to graduate in May, and the hurricane put their plans in jeopardy.
“My goal was to keep them on track,” Lively said. “I knew right away if we weren’t able to salvage that semester’s courses, there was a high likelihood they wouldn’t have graduated before release.”
To ensure class continuity, Lively worked to deliver supplies, including notebooks, books, and class materials. He worked with wardens and staff at the prisons to keep communication flowing. And he teamed up with A-B Tech instructors to bring class materials to students to ensure they could stay on track, despite the stress of adjusting to a new living environment. Thanks to his and the other instructors’ efforts, fourteen students graduated from A-B Tech last May, the majority of them with honors.
Lively’s background is a mix of higher education experience, teaching, and journalism. He worked for four years as a newspaper reporter in Kentucky and North Carolina before landing a job at his alma mater, Warren Wilson College, as a student advisor and career counselor. After four years in the role, he felt drawn to work at a community college and found the job posting at A-B Tech for his current position.
He didn’t have any experience working with prisons, so he almost didn’t apply, but he had recently read a book that touched his mind and heart: “The Master Plan” by Chris Wilson, about a man who transforms his life after being incarcerated and goes on to become a successful entrepreneur and public speaker. Lively applied with the thought that he might make a difference in the lives of “folks who could use a little help, who might have made some bad decisions, but deserve a second or third chance.”
It turned out to be the right choice. Lively landed the job and learned that it came with an advising component that would draw on his background working with students. He meets regularly with 35 curriculum students at Western Correctional Facility and Craggy Correctional Center for Men to support their needs. He also often advises offenders enrolled in high school equivalency or continuing education classes. And he meets with offenders before they’re released from prison to discuss their academic and career goals.
“It’s a great opportunity to sit down and talk about opportunities,” he said. “Many (at the women’s facility) want to go on to get a bachelor's or master’s in social work.”
Lively also enjoys that his job takes him into many departments across A-B Tech, so he’s learned a lot about the college’s inner workings. From human services and transitional studies to admissions and financial aid, Lively works with many staff to keep his students on track.
“They are not a big group, but they have unique needs because they don’t have contact with the outside,” he said. “I help them navigate the college.”
After nearly three years on the job, Lively is beginning to see students he worked with two years ago landing good jobs and getting accepted to four-year degree programs. It adds another positive layer of meaning to his work.
Being recognized with the Starfish Award last fall came as a surprise. Brooke Wheeler from the Department of Adult Corrections said that Lively stood out for making a tangible difference for students; that his work reflects innovation and compassion. “He ensured continuity of educational services during Helene, which was extremely difficult…” she said.
For Lively, the award is a sign that his hard work is paying off. “It meant a lot to get (it) to be honest,” he said. “It meant a lot for the Department of Adult Corrections to see the work that A-B Tech is doing, that I’m doing, and to recognize it.”