Healing and Transformation: DBU Professor Develops Curriculum for Inmate Rehabilitation

While pursuing a passion for the visual arts and teaching, Dallas Baptist University alumna and professor, Ivy Koval, served with the Acceleron Group to develop a rehabilitation curriculum for incarcerated individuals, called the InterLIFT Program. The program aims to incorporate art and dance to help inmates process their pasts and prepare them to be contributing members of society.

Raised in North Texas, Ivy and her two brothers were homeschooled in a loving, Christian household. Ivy remembers how her parents lived out what it meant to surrender fully to Christ, and how they would constantly read her Bible stories growing up. While she knew about Jesus from an early age, Ivy did not fully understand the depth of Christ's sacrifice until she experienced death for the first time. Following her grandfather's passing, five-year-old Ivy had a conversation with her father about where her grandfather went after death, which led to her accepting Christ into her life on her grandmother's front porch steps.

After being homeschooled through the 12th grade, Ivy began attending DBU to pursue her passion for the visual arts. She was drawn to the idea of being surrounded by a Christ-centered environment where she could develop her knowledge and skills without having to compromise her values and beliefs.

As a student, Ivy served in the art department, helping peers with various projects, which opened her heart up to the idea of teaching. She then graduated with her bachelor's degree in art and later earned her master's degree in commercial art before returning to DBU as an adjunct professor in the College of Fine Arts.

During her time as a student, Ivy danced professionally with a Christian-based contemporary ballet company in Dallas. Following her retirement from dance, she began serving as a ballet director at two studios, teaching kids ages 7-18. Teaching students from elementary to college in multiple areas of visual arts, Ivy has enjoyed getting to watch her students grow in skill and knowledge.

As Ivy grew in her passions for the visual arts and teaching, opportunities opened for her to develop visual arts curriculum. While completing a curriculum for a fine arts school in Argyle, the owner of Acceleron Learning reached out to Ivy about creating a curriculum for incarcerated individuals within the Texas prison system.

Working with a team of field experts, Ivy began helping to develop the InterLIFT (Life Integrative Facilitated Treatment) Program, which serves to provide ways for incarcerated inmates to process thoughts, emotions, trauma, past experiences, and future goals through the visual arts.

Ivy's goal with InterLIFT was to introduce both art and dance as forms of therapy. Each lesson plan focused on introducing basic concepts, the history of notable artists, along with filmed lectures, demonstrations, project prompts, and discussion questions aimed at helping incarcerated individuals better process trauma in a healthy way.

The program also provides facilitators with step-by-step lesson plans, video lectures, demonstrations, project prompts, and quizzes to properly prepare them to lead lessons, and gives inmates the option for a self-paced learning experience.

By the end of the program, the hope is that inmates achieve a better quality of life and increase the chances of becoming contributing members of society at the end of their prison term. Most importantly, Ivy prays that InterLIFT brings inmates healing and transformation. "I hope that participants learn that even while they are incarcerated, they can still take control of becoming better versions of themselves with the opportunities presented to them," she shares.

After over a year of incorporating art and dance into one therapeutic program, Ivy and Acceleron Learning have received positive feedback as they have seen and heard how inmates are healing and transforming. "No matter where the journey begins, creative expression offers a path forward," the MTC East Texas Treatment Facility said. "Together, through art, we find hope, connection, and a new way to tell our stories."

Today, the InterLIFT program is not only used in the Texas prison system but has also been implemented in the Ohio prison system.

Entering her ninth year as an adjunct professor in DBU's art department, Ivy continues to teach foundational-level art courses and helps students understand the impact visual arts can have. "I get to show students how powerful the visual arts are and that God can use skilled artists to communicate His truth, beauty, and goodness in unique ways that can be appreciated by a diverse audience," she says.

Ivy attends Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, where she serves in the Children's Ministry, teaching 2nd-3rd grade Sunday School; is part of the greeting team for an adult Sunday School group; and is part of a Bible study group.

Throughout different seasons of life, Ivy never dreamed that her life and career would be where it was today. While she had one plan, the Lord had another, and Ivy is grateful for Him taking her down this path.