Jenna Vollman dropped out of high school as a freshman with only three credits and a 1.1 GPA to her name. Now 35, Vollman received her diploma in November through the Wasatch County Jail’s adult education program, which the Wasatch County School District facilitates.
Vollman, who has been out of prison for four months and now lives in Orem, said graduating is the first goal she’s actually accomplished in her life.
“I would always doubt myself growing up. Like, ‘There’s no way I can do that. I’m not smart enough, or I don’t have the patience to do it.’ I would lie to myself and not give myself a chance,” she said. “Now that I’m giving myself a chance, it’s the best feeling ever.”
Becoming a more confident person has been a lifelong, uphill battle for Vollman.
When she was 5, her father died by suicide, creating separation anxiety so severe Vollman required a prescription. That snowballed into self-medication in her early teens. She started using methamphetamine and discovered heroin and fentanyl in her late 20s.
“I would literally try any substance to not feel the feelings that I felt,” she said.
Though she had dropped out of school in ninth grade, by 17, Vollman was determined to reenroll. That dream was crushed when she realized she was pregnant.
“I just didn’t even think about school anymore. It was only about having a child,” she said.
Vollman now has four children who live in Pocatello, Idaho, with the rest of her family. She lost custody of her children during what she described as a vicious cycle of addiction treatment, relapse and homelessness throughout her adult years living in Utah County.
In that time, she had several run-ins with the law. Ultimately, Vollman was sentenced to prison at the Utah State Correctional Facility in January 2025, stemming from theft, vehicle burglary and drug possession charges, all misdemeanors, as well as a third-degree felony charge for unlawful use of a bank card.
“I was basically trying to do probation from 2023 to the end of 2024 and just could not keep myself out of trouble or clean. That’s when they eventually sent me to prison,” Vollman said.
After her sentencing, Vollman set a goal of obtaining her high school diploma through the prison’s adult education program by her Board of Pardons & Parole hearing in December. She was transferred to Wasatch County Jail in April 2025 due to high occupancy at the prison.
At that time, the jail was between teachers for the program. Then, the Wasatch County School District hired retired teacher Kathy Carr that summer to teach the course.
Carr began her part-time role at the jail because she desired to make a difference in inmates’ lives.
“I care so much for people in the system and want to offer what I can for them to change,” she said. “I’m so proud of (Vollman) and our other students who realize their potential.”
The jail’s General Educational Development, or GED, program is available to inmates depending on qualifications like good behavior, the crime they were convicted for and their sentence.
Inmates must earn 27 credits through self-guided state curriculum packets, class time and tests on English, math, science and social studies. Any credits they originally earned in high school carry over.
Vollman also received credits by working full time at the jail’s kitchen for $1 an hour.
Carr visits the jail every Monday morning for a two-hour class in the library to help inmates with any subjects they are struggling with. Then, she hosts an art class, providing the supplies herself.
“It was very uplifting, and you could see how much she actually cared about all of the women in there that were struggling and needing some lifting up,” Vollman said. “I love Kathy. She’s an amazing lady, and I know that it’s only the beginning of her journey with Wasatch (County Jail). She’s going to do great things there.”
Carr has now helped six inmates graduate the program. Vollman was her first, receiving her diploma in her cap and gown in November — one month before the deadline she’d set for herself.
“I did cry a lot, but it was a happy cry. I hadn’t seen my parents in over a year when they came (from Idaho for the graduation ceremony), so that was really special,” she said.
Vollman was “shocked” that she’d accomplished her goal. She’d pursued her GED about eight years ago but gave up after returning to drugs.
In Vollman’s experience, being unhoused has always been the No. 1 cause of her relapses.
“It kind of sounds like an excuse, but when you’re a drug addict, and you become homeless, you revert back to your surviving ways. Drugs are the only survival tool that you have when you’re homeless,” she said.
Thankfully, Vollman’s had no trouble keeping a roof over her head thanks to a friend from her teenage years, who is offering Vollman a room free of charge in exchange for nannying and babysitting duties three days a week.
The experience of being “part of a family” again is preparing Vollman to reunite with her children, which she hopes to do after saving up money to move to Idaho.
But for now, Vollman is learning to be comfortable living without family or a partner to fall back on.
“I had codependency issues, and I still do. I’m working on them with my therapist right now,” she said. “I would jump from one relationship to the next and not give myself any time to actually heal or grow. I’ve actually been single since I went to prison, and it’s been the most amazing thing to be able to love myself, finally.”
Now that she’s graduated, Vollman hopes to pursue her associate degree and become certified as a peer support specialist. Her ultimate goal is to become a substance use disorder counselor and open her own rehabilitation center. She said she believes her story of resilience after losing everything can make a difference in addicts’ lives.
After her experience in prison, Vollman knows that “drugs are no longer an option.”
“Even on the hard days, I don’t get to quit and just get high. That’s not the option,” she said. “The option is to do the hard thing and to go after the goals that I’ve been setting. Because I know that I’m capable of it.”