Alumni Spotlight: Chasity Choate

REBUILDING A FUTURE THROUGH THE LAST MILE AND SECOND CHANCE EMPLOYMENT​

When Chasity Choate first entered prison, she believed her future had disappeared.

Before incarceration, her life had been stable. She was a suburban mother, a professional mortician, and someone who had already built a successful career. That stability collapsed after a trip to Oklahoma with her family. As Choate explains, “He ended up getting us into a situation and that situation cost me 13 years in prison.” The shock of that moment reshaped everything.

Inside prison, she struggled with the realization that the life she had built might be permanently out of reach. Looking back on those early days, she remembers how overwhelming that feeling was, explaining how discouraged she felt as she walked into her cell.

A Life Before Prison

Long before incarceration, Chasity Choate had already demonstrated remarkable determination. After struggling with attendance in high school, she was transferred to an alternative program that allowed her to accelerate her education. That change ultimately helped her graduate early and begin college as a teenager. 

Her academic drive carried her quickly through the program, launching her into a demanding career in the funeral industry. Reflecting on those years, Choate explains that “I was a mortician for a very long time from 1998 to 2011. I had children, had my own home, had a great career, everything was going well.”

For more than a decade, Choate built a stable professional life while raising her daughters and supporting her family. The work required both technical expertise and emotional resilience, but she thrived in the role. That stability, however, vanished after the events that led to her incarceration. The transition from a respected career to prison life created a profound sense of loss that took years to process.

Discovering The Last Mile

While incarcerated at Mabel Bassett Correctional Facility in Oklahoma, Chasity Choate had already begun preparing for life after prison. Determined to rebuild her future, she enrolled in classes toward a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management, knowing that education would be critical when she eventually returned home. With the stigma of incarceration ahead of her, Choate believed she would need to stack as many skills and credentials as possible to compete in the job market.

Then a new opportunity arrived inside the prison that changed her plans.

The Last Mile, a technology education program teaching coding and software development inside correctional facilities, was launching its first class in Oklahoma. The program was so promising that Choate made a difficult decision. She paused her bachelor’s degree to focus entirely on learning software development. 

“I was picked to be part of that inaugural class,” she recalled. “It was the first class inside of our prisons.” The curriculum was demanding, and the instructors warned students that completing the program required full dedication. Choate agreed. If she was going to pursue this opportunity, she was going to commit completely.

Learning to code inside prison proved to be one of the most challenging experiences of her life. Without access to the open internet or modern development tools, students had to rely on structured coursework, problem-solving, and relentless practice. 

At first, the scope of the material felt impossible. Choate remembers asking herself, “How am I supposed to learn 10 different languages at one time?”

But the program’s structure and discipline helped students move forward step by step. Over time, the concepts that once seemed impossible began to make sense, and coding became a new path forward.

Teaching and Mentorship Inside Prison

After completing the program, Choate did not leave the classroom behind. Instead, she chose to remain and help others succeed. She became a Teaching Assistant with The Last Mile, mentoring new students entering the program and guiding them through the same rigorous curriculum she had once struggled to master. “I ended up finishing the program,” she explained,  “and then staying on as a TA for close to five years.”

During those years, Choate helped guide multiple cohorts through the coding program. Many students entering the classroom had limited formal education or had only recently earned their GEDs while incarcerated. 

She focused on teaching them research techniques, study strategies, and the logical thinking required for programming. Watching students overcome their doubts and master new skills became one of the most rewarding parts of her journey.

 

The Challenge of Reentry

When Choate was released, she entered a difficult chapter familiar to many justice-impacted individuals: finding stable employment. For more than a year after leaving prison, she relied on temporary jobs through gig and staffing apps to make ends meet. 

Every day involved searching for available shifts, competing for work, and trying to cover basic expenses. “For a year and a half I was on the grind,” She reflected on that time. “I was hustling every day trying to pick up a shift and trying to make my bills.”

Despite her new technical skills and determination, many opportunities fell through as organizations refused to consider candidates with a record. At one point she even received a promising job offer, only to have the company rescind it before she could start. The experience was devastating, but Choate refused to stop pushing forward.

Finding Opportunity at PHP Commercial Painting

Today, Chasity works as a data entry specialist and IT professional at PHP Commercial Painting, helping manage the company’s internal systems and digital infrastructure. Her work includes organizing company data, supporting internal technology platforms, and helping integrate systems as the company continues to grow. 

The opportunity came quickly once she was connected with the company through a reentry program. “I came in the next day and did an interview and they basically hired me on the spot,” she recalls.

Since joining the organization, Choate’s role has expanded as she continues to demonstrate her value to the team. In less than a year, she has already received multiple raises and was recently moved to a salaried position. Reflecting on the transition from uncertainty during reentry to stability in her new career, Choate describes the experience simply: she finally felt like her world had “settled down.”

The position allows her to combine the technical skills she developed through The Last Mile with her strong work ethic and problem-solving abilities. It also places her inside an organization that shares the same commitment to second chances that helped her rebuild her own future.

A True Fair Chance Employer

The company Choate joined has built its entire culture around opportunity. PHP Commercial Painting, based in Arizona, is known for employing large numbers of justice-impacted individuals and helping them rebuild stable careers after incarceration.

Founder John Morris understands that journey personally. Long before building PHP Commercial Painting into a successful business, Morris experienced many of the same struggles faced by the people he now employs. He grew up in a difficult environment and spent years cycling through trouble with the law before eventually serving time himself. 

“The first time I got arrested I was 13 years old” John explained in a recent interview. “However, if I wasn’t getting locked up or in trouble, I was always painting.” Over time, painting became became a path forward in John’s life. 

In 2011, Morris started PHP Commercial Painting out of his garage with just two painters and a determination to build something different. As the company grew, he began hiring people who shared similar backgrounds, believing that meaningful work could help others rebuild their lives just as he had rebuilt his own.

Morris also shares that message beyond his company through his podcast, Workforce Skills With John Morris, where he discusses workforce skills, second chances, and the realities people face when trying to rebuild their lives after incarceration. 

Chasity Choate herself was a guest on the podcast, where she shared her journey from incarceration to building a new career through The Last Mile and PHP Commercial Painting. Conversations like these help highlight what fair-chance employment looks like in practice—showing how education, opportunity, and supportive employers can help people turn their lives around and create stable futures.

Chastity’s Success With A Second Chance 

That philosophy is exactly why Chaisty Choate stood out during the hiring process. After her interview, members of the leadership team immediately recommended bringing her on board. Morris remembers their reaction clearly: “They told me, ‘John, we want this girl. There’s something special about her.’”

Since then, he has watched her grow into an important member of the organization. “It’s been exciting watching her grow with the company and how she interacts with everybody,” Morris says.

For Choate, the experience has reinforced the importance of opportunity. Companies like PHP demonstrate what can happen when employers are willing to look beyond someone’s past and invest in their future.

Chasity

Chasity and her two daugthers

Why Stories Like Chasity Choate’s Matter

Chaisty’s story illustrates the broader impact of education and opportunity for justice-impacted individuals. Programs like The Last Mile provide valuable skills before release, yet it also takes  second-chance employers that are ready to create pathways to stable careers during reentry. 

Choate remains committed to helping others follow the same path she did. Reflecting on the obstacles she faced and the opportunities that helped her succeed, she emphasizes the importance of persistence, explaining that “the most important thing is that I never gave up. Every roadblock I encountered, I just had to keep pushing past.”

Her journey demonstrates that transformation is possible long before someone leaves prison—and that the right combination of education, mentorship, and opportunity can create a future that once seemed impossible.

Written By Robert Roche