One of the defining achievements of the Arkansas Department of Corrections is the yearly graduation ceremony for inmates who have attained their GEDs and other degrees from accredited universities. For all, it is a testament to perseverance and dedication, providing great opportunities in the future.
But for one man at the 2025 GED graduation ceremony, the word “perseverance” took on a whole new meaning.
The road that Lloyd Byrd took from entering the Tucker Unit as a 15-year-old in 1970 to walking across the stage as a 70-year-old graduate is one over 50 years in the making.
Byrd grew up in a household of 16 kids in rural Texarkana. With that many children living under one roof, he emphasized education often took a back seat to working in order to provide.
“Education wasn’t that important to my family. Working was. My dad and mom worked hard all day, every day. They would send me to school, but even in the first grade, once the first class bell rang, I was out the door. That’s just the way it was. I’d head off into town and find some work to do.”
Byrd first entered the Department in 1970 at just 15 years old. Unable to read and write, he relied on other inmates to write letters and communicate with his family, and that was the start of a nearly life-long journey to learn and grow.
“It made me feel ashamed to not be able to communicate with my mother,” Byrd recalled. “Having to get another inmate to write a simple letter for me motivated me to want to get in school and be able to write for myself.”
After nearly a year, Byrd was able to write a letter for the first time, and that first one went to his mother.
“I told her that I was doing well, that I wanted her to come visit me. And she did,” Byrd said. “That was when my world started to open up.”
Byrd’s quest for knowledge continued for the next five decades. During that time, he estimates over 100 different teachers came and went, each of them pushing him in their own way despite having to face challenges of their own.
“Back in those days (at the Cummins Unit), those teachers had to fight for everything, and it wasn’t easy,” Byrd recalls. “There was no air conditioning, no metal detectors, no panic buttons, no technology, none of that stuff. They had to fight through the halls and work with us for eight hours a day. But those teachers brought encouragement and a positive mental attitude, and that motivated me.
“I haven’t run across a teacher yet that didn’t have some kind of positive impact on me or taught me something about life,” Byrd continued. “They brought knowledge that wasn’t just in books, and it was so enjoyable to me to be around. That gives you a burning desire to keep going.”
After serving in both Cummins and Wrightsville for 40 years, Byrd was transferred to the East Arkansas Regional Unit in Brickeys. As one who believes everything happens for a reason, Byrd said he didn’t understand the transfer at the time, but the plan for him quickly unfolded.
It was around that same time that Angela Beard came to East Arkansas as the school’s new principal. Byrd remembers her going around to different inmates and asking how long they had been in the school system.
“When she got to me, I said I’ve been in the school system for 40-plus years,” Byrd recalls. “She looked right at me and said this is going to stop. We’re going to start taking some tests and get you a degree.”
“What I didn’t realize was that he hadn’t even started testing in all that time,” Beard said. “He’d been observing and absorbing information and soaking up everything he could. But when it came time to take the tests, he never did.”
“I was scared,” Byrd admitted. “The school system had become a comfort zone for me and I didn’t want to let all those people down that had worked so hard with me. But Ms. Beard and those teachers made me feel comfortable and gave me the confidence to try.”
To pass the GED isn’t as simple as taking a single test. There are a series of eight tests that need to be passed, building up to the final exam. And working through that process proved to be another testament to the perseverance and tenacity of both Byrd and the school staff.
“He tested a lot, but he never got discouraged,” Beard said. “If he would fail a test, he would work hard between the testing to learn the skills.”
When asked if Byrd had any idea how many times he had taken the tests, he knew the answer immediately.
“66 times,” Byrd said.
But after 50 years in the school system, hundreds of teachers, thousands of hours studying, and 66 failed attempts, Byrd’s perseverance finally paid off. On April 9, 2025, he passed his final exam and finally became eligible to receive his degree.
“We were waiting, and I heard someone start yelling and hollering,” Byrd remembers. “I was so overjoyed for achieving that, that I just grabbed the first person I saw and hugged them and shed tears. Ms. Beard, every time I failed, she’d have me look at the skills I needed to learn and work on them. I kept her encouragement, and it finally paid off.”
At the GED graduation ceremony in October, in front of nearly 1,000 people in the Ouachita River Unit gymnasium, a special award tailored just for Byrd was presented. And it was presented by none other than Dr. William “Dubs” Byers, the former teacher, principal and superintendent in the school system that spent 20 years working alongside Byrd.
“I remember the persistence that he had in going to school,” Byers said at the ceremony. “He wanted to get his GED. And let me tell you something, what I admire about him, and the reason we’re giving this award today is he was persistent, and his persistence paid off. You are an inspiration to me, and an inspiration to all those who walk with you.”
It was a humbling moment for Byrd, as he recalled over 50 years of memories, faces, and experiences rushing through his mind as he looked out on the crowd, which included numerous of his current and former teachers. For him, that moment was just as much about them.
“I thank all of the school teachers from the bottom of my heart, and I’m so grateful they never gave up on me,” Byrd said. “I want them to know that, and I want the community to know that. This is a tough job they do, and they did not fail me. They could have easily given up on me, but they didn’t do it.”
With his degree secured, Byrd continues to look toward the future. While his official days in the school system may be over, the quest for education is one Byrd is not about to give up any time soon. He continues to seek out as much knowledge as he can, and hopes he will have the opportunity to impart what he’s learned with future generations.
“If I’m ever able to get out of prison, or even if I don’t, I’m grateful for everything I have learned and experienced,” Byrd said. “I’m 70 years old now, and if I am blessed enough to get out, I want to pass it forward, become a contributing member of society, and use whatever time I have left to teach others about my experience and encourage them to not travel down the road I went down. But even if I don’t get out, I’m thankful for the person I’ve become.”