Graduation season has arrived in San Diego, and thousands of students are crossing stages across the county. Among them is 35‑year‑old Shawn Khalifa, who walked across the University of San Diego commencement stage this month to receive his master’s degree in restorative justice—a milestone he once believed was impossible. “It never seemed like a possibility,” Khalifa said. “I never initially had a desire to get a master’s degree.” Standing on USD’s campus in cap and gown, Khalifa looks like any other graduate celebrating a hard‑earned achievement. But his path was unlike most. For half of his life, Khalifa was incarcerated at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility, serving a sentence of 25 years to life for a crime committed when he was just 15. One day, older teens in the neighborhood planned what they believed would be a simple home burglary. Khalifa followed. “I thought it would be a sneak‑in burglary, no one would be home,” he recalled. “But the homeowner was present.” Under California’s felony murder rule at the time, Khalifa—who acted as lookout—was held legally responsible for the killing that occurred inside the home. Proposition 21, passed in 2000, allowed prosecutors to directly file charges against minors in adult court. Khalifa never saw a juvenile judge. “My punishment was 25 years to life,” he said. In 2018, California amended the felony murder rule, limiting murder liability to those who intended to kill or acted with reckless indifference to human life. The change opened the door for Khalifa to seek resentencing. Even then, he wasn’t immediately released. A judge initially ruled he still met the threshold for reckless indifference. But in 2020—after 15 years behind bars—Khalifa walked out of Donovan a free man. During his time in prison, he was able to pursue an associate degree in Sociology through a program at Southwestern College. After his release, he enrolled at UC Irvine, graduating with a bachelor’s degree as part of the Underground Scholars Program. Khalifa also married his wife, Maria. The couple has two young little girls. The road to Khalifa’s success was paved with support from his community, including Austin Galy, the Senior Director of the Student Social and Economic Mobility at the University of San Diego’s Mulvaney Center for Community, Awareness and Social Action (CASA). “Having that community is such a gamechanger to not just survive but really thrive academically and holistically in a place like this,” Galy said. Galy is also the Co-founder of USD’s Torero Urban Scholars – a college reentry program for formerly incarcerated and justice impacted students. “Human dignity and Catholic social teaching. Just honoring the fact that we see all human beings as inherently good and redeemable regardless of your past,” said Galy. Today, Khalifa works for that same program for formerly incarcerated students. “We have over 60 formerly incarcerated students on campus,” Khalifa said. “We also support system‑impacted students—those with incarcerated parents,” he added. This coming fall, Khalifa also plans to teach Administration of Justice at Southwestern College, the same institution that helped him begin his academic career. “Accepting Jesus as my lord and savior gives you a fire and a passion where you can overcome anything,” said Khalifa. ...read more read less