Feature Article
Prison Break
I
f Aaron Kinzel ’10 was born with
a silver spoon in his mouth, it was prob-
ably stolen.
At age 5, he was taught to pick locks
and steal. Continually surrounded by bad
people and bad influences at home, the
angry, pot-smoking 15-year-old shoved a
teacher at a basketball game one night,
and then tangled with police who tried
to arrest him. That landed him in the
juvenile detention center. From there,
he moved on to drugs and guns.
The tipping point for Kinzel came at
age 18, when his violent confrontation
with police led to a five-felony convic-
tion. He served nearly 10 years in fed-
eral prison, but spent some of that time
learning. He learned about the legal
system. He learned about the cultural
stigmas of being a convicted felon. And
he learned that he didn’t have to be an-
gry any more. Turning to education, one
prison correspondence class sparked an
amazing educational journey that contin-
ues to unfold. Now a Siena Heights Uni-
versity graduate on his way to a doctor-
ate, Kinzel is teaching others about the
criminal justice system—from his own
unique perspective.
Although the legal system says he
has paid his debt to society, he knows
being an ex-con will always come with a
price to pay. But he is ready to tell any-
one who wants to listen that all he wants
is a chance to contribute, to make a dif-
ference, to succeed.