Ronda, Correctional Officer, Dorchester Penitentiary

Ronda
Correctional Officer

 

My name is Ronda Canfield, and I am a CX-1 (Correctional Officer) at Dorchester Institution

I am on my way to work and I have my uniform on, and people see you with your uniform on, there's a sense of pride that comes from that. They recognize you as somebody that helps to keep them safe. You feel that when you're out in to public and then you come in here and the inmates can be having a horrible day and you can say something to them that may change how their day goes.

I find the job challenging but rewarding. I enjoy working with the offenders because they come from all walks of life, all cultures. They teach me something almost every day that I'm at work.

I feel like I do change lives, some. I think everybody is changing lives just by being here. When I come to work, I'm not here to pass judgment on the inmates that have been incarcerated in the federal system, that has been done by the courts. My job is to make sure that they’re aware that they can live a life outside of here, that they can choose to see a different way to live. It’s not easy and it’s a long road to come back from. But they need to know that, that we believe that they can do it.

If you can get up every day and come to work and feel like you can make a difference, that’s enough, at the end of the day.