Ryan Flaco Rising

Ryan Flaco Rising is the retention coordinator for the UCI Underground Scholars Program, as well as a PhD candidate in Criminology, Law, and Society at the University of California, Irvine. Rising’s lived experience as a formerly incarcerated youth and adult deeply informs the work he does around assisting formerly incarcerated students in their transition into uci, bringing to the table a unique firsthand perspective. Rising’s research interests center on creating pathways for formerly incarcerated individuals into higher education, and analyzing the evolution of programs that serve formerly incarcerated students within the university system. Rising uses his lived experience as a formerly incarcerated student to guide his research, developing tangible findings and methods to best serve this demographic’s needs within university and reentry services across California. Rising has been a part of the Underground Scholars program since his release from New Folsom State Prison in 2015. Rising founded the Gaucho Underground Scholars Program at the University of California, Santa Barbara, while completing his bachelor’s degree in sociology with a minor in education. There, he played a critical role in the leadership and statewide expansion of the Underground Scholars Programs, now active on almost every University of California campus. Rising has won many prestigious awards, including the Circle of Excellence Scholarship from the University of San Diego. One of the highest honors during his time at UCSB was the distinguished Michael D. Young Engaged Scholars Award, highlighting how Rising built an entire program from the ground floor up to serve the needs of formerly incarcerated students. This is now a fully institutionalized program funded by the State of California. Rising’s writing has been published in a variety of newspapers, as well as in the book Reclaiming Our Stories. His work is a testament to the power of formerly incarcerated students, and his theory of “organic leadership” demonstrates how formerly incarcerated people continue to produce new solutions, assist in healing, and create sustainable pathways that uplift entire communities.