Roderick McNeely, received a scholarship for the Anthony Graves Smart Justice Speakers Bureau from the ACLU. Before that Roderick had founded BBAM Foundation, which is a non-profit prison ministry that helps men get a start upon their release from prison.

Before that , Roderick was incarcerated himself on two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and one count of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon because of a serious drug addiction. He didn't think he was a bad person, but that he had a real bad habit that caused him to do bad things.

Roderick's transformation started in prison, where he began to help and encourage other men to try and live a better life while behind bars. This caused him a lot of heart ache because of the environment him was in. but he was determined to change his life because there was a little boy waiting for him to come home.

Finally after coming home Roderick found a son that was confused, because his mother was addicted to drugs. Roderick was determined to not allow his son to become another static because of his background. So he became a single parent trying to raise his son and teach him to be a man but that wasn't easy.

Roderick struggled with his background barriers and a medical condition that would not allow him to work. But today he has overcome them, and his son is in the military and he advocates for prison reform all over the state of Texas.