Opening Windows, Changing Futures

The graduation of the 12th cohort of the “Windows onto Campus Dreams” program for prison inmates was marked this past summer with an emotional ceremony attended by program alumni, university leaders, and representatives from the Israel Prison Service.

The participants, inmates from prisons in southern Israel, began their studies in March 2025 and completed them in the summer. The lecturers, all Ben-Gurion University faculty and students, provided introductions to various academic fields, including medicine, economics, and geography, thereby broadening their perspectives and opening new horizons.

We spoke with Mekonen Fanta and Nitzan Keidar, two students at BGU’s Joyce and Irving Goldman Medical School, about their experiences as instructors in the “Introduction to Medicine” course they taught as part of the program.

“Despite prior experience teaching, this was the first time I experienced such a deep and moving connection centered on learning,” Mekonen, now in his second year of medical school, notes. “The prisoners’ curiosity, their questions, and their desire to thoroughly understand things sparked my own passion to learn and explore them more deeply. Those moments when they shared personal experiences, alongside the attention and respect they gave one another, created an exceptional space. It was a truly meaningful experience; one I’ll carry with me going forward.”

Nitzan adds: “In medicine - much like in the Windows onto Campus Dreams project - I have the opportunity to meet different people, from different populations that I never imagined I’d connect with, to be truly present for them. And I can use it to drive changes that go far beyond medical treatment.”

From Ashdod to Medicine

Mekonen Fanta was born and raised in Ashdod to parents who made Aliya from Ethiopia and struggled with the challenges of immigration and integration. As children, Mekonen and his siblings were pushed by their parents to study hard, with the belief that education is the key to opportunity and success.

Mekonen was fascinated by the human body and the world of medicine from a young age. During high school, he took the most advanced courses in every possible subject. “I did that, so that when the time came to choose an academic path, I’d have multiple options and could choose a profession I truly wanted,” he explains.

After high school, he studied at a yeshiva and later enlisted in the IDF, serving as a paratrooper. Upon completing his military service, he worked as a youth counselor. He is particularly proud of the initiative he spearheaded, establishing a group that guided high schoolers toward meaningful army service.

During this period, as Mekonen began thinking about academic studies, he took a first-aid training course with Magen David Adom.

“The course provided a professional entry to the world of medicine - anatomy, approaches to patient care, and much more - and sparked a deep engagement. As the course progressed, my interest intensified, and at that point, I knew that medicine was the field I wanted to study and pursue.”

Mekonen passed the entrance exams and was accepted into BGU’s Goldman Medical School, a program he describes as “unique in its approach, emphasizing human connection and clinical practice from an early stage”.

His parents supported him every step of the way. “They are very proud, especially considering that they themselves never had the opportunity to get a university education, whereas we, their children, did. It's a success that moves all of us,” he revealed. 

To Be a Steady Presence in a Storm

Nitzan Keidar, 26, hails from the community of Bat Hefer, in the Sharon region.

Now in her third year of medical studies, Nitzan has a range of interests and passions. She has always been drawn to art. “I love to create, to build and design from scratch. It’s a process that, in my eyes, resembles medicine: precision, emotion, and close attention to detail,” she says. And a love of animals led her to work in a veterinary clinic for four years after completing her military service.

Nitzan has known that she wanted to become a doctor since high school. She took all the science classes she could and began volunteering for Magen David Adom at 15. By now she’s accumulated 11 years as a medic: “That’s where I experienced moments that remind me why I chose this profession.”

“The validation for that choice came after high school, during my military service as an air traffic controller,” she explained. “This role wasn’t directly connected to medicine, but it placed me in extreme situations and presented complex challenges that required quick decision-making and real-time conflict resolution. In a sense, my positive experience with aircraft and flight crews strengthened my desire to pursue a challenging profession like medicine.”

“The final decision to study medicine was an inner calling, not just a desire to do good,” she explains. “I’ve always been drawn to those moments where you have to stay grounded in a turbulent environment, to serve as an anchor of calm and presence.”

This was her second year teaching in the “Windows onto Campus Dreams” program, and the rewards of the experience only grow stronger.

“I can definitely say that every inmate is a world unto themselves; each has their own story and unique character traits. But they all share one thing: curiosity and a desire to learn and grow. This is something you don’t see everywhere. I am privileged to have witnessed that,” she says.

150 Graduates in Twelve Years

Alongside a range of adult education programs offered by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev to diverse audiences from varied backgrounds, Windows onto Campus Dreams puts into practice the belief that the university belongs to everyone; that knowledge and education can have a transformative effect on anyone.

The program, a collaboration between Ben-Gurion’s Community Action Department, headed by Adv. Vered Seroussi Katz, and the Israel Prison Service, was the first of its kind in Israel, launched with the goal of instilling in inmates the confidence and faith that they could reintegrate into society. Since its inception in 2013, more than 150 inmates have completed the program.

One inmate, identified as A., summed up his experience studying at BGU: “When I started the course, I never imagined for a moment that I would end up in a place like this - an academic institution, taking a course in medicine, meeting lecturers from Ben-Gurion University. Who would have believed that during such a dark time in life, you could turn on the light? This glimpse into the academic world sparked something in me. It made me want more; it made me believe I could. And it brought into focus one simple saying, which is now my deepest truth: Dreams don’t have to stay in your head. You can make them come true. And this is just the beginning.”