Brian Skinner and Rodney Snyder struggled through the certification process to become master growers.

Their experiences led them to create a certification pre-test that now is used statewide for everyone.

Southeastern Correctional Institution inmates Skinner and Snyder wanted to help other inmates going through the horticulture program. So they started creating a pre-test for the certification exams.
“They are three very tough tests,” Snyder said. “We had tested each other before the certification tests, but we just didn’t think they were doing the job. We wanted to help our fellow inmates.”

The men earned Master Growers certificates from the Ohio Nursery and Landscaping Association. They also hold landscaping and garden certifications.

They started working closely with Tom Ramsay, the prison’s Horticulture program director, to develop the pre-test about a year ago. Ramsay retired at the end of 2006.

They developed a pre-test with 195 questions when they finished.

“The test they developed was passed along to other horticulture programs in the state prison system. It was helping inmates across the state study and prepare for the certification tests,” said SCI Warden Mark Saunders.

Saunders said before long the Ohio Nursery and Landscaping Association learned about the test developed by the inmates.

“They liked the way it was working in preparing the students for the certification tests,” Saunders said. “They started using it for other students across Ohio who were training to prepare for the test. Now it’s used statewide.”

The horticulture program is one of five career technology programs taught at the prison, just outside Lancaster on BIS Road.

The other programs include plumbing, welding, carpentry and drafting and horticulture. The programs train inmates in professions they can use once they get on the outside.

“It makes all the difference in the world,” Saunders said. “When these guys land a job and start getting a check, it changes everything. A job provides them money, which allows them some independence and an ability to get a job or an apartment and pay off some of their fines and court costs. If they can get a job once they are outside, their lives can change.”