Thinking caps are on inside the classroom at the South Dakota State Penitentiary as inmates are getting a unique opportunity to tap into their thoughts and put their pens to paper.

It's a new program as part of student research teaching creative writing to inmates nearing the end of their sentence. So far, it's making a profound difference.

Emelia O'Toole is the instructor who is also a student assistant researcher at the University of Sioux Falls.

"I want to be a teacher. I'm going onto graduate school so this is the best first teaching gig ever. They are great," Emilia O'Toole said.

The students of hers are doing a lot of reading and writing in a short amount of time.

"Everything I've given them, they've read and thought about. It's inspired them to write their own stuff. It's everything you'd want a creative writing class to be," O'Toole said.

The inmates feel the same way.

"We're coming together as a class, we're helping each other," Rocky Clark said.

Rocky Clark is one of them.

"We were all skeptical about it. I don't think anyone wanted to open up about everything. After all, we're in prison. It turned out to be beneficial for us. It's a good group. It's a good class," Clark said.

Learning about creative writing and simply opening up about how he feels is a huge step in the right direction.

"Everyone is so used to me being a negative person. Now I'm figuring out how to be a positive person, making positive choices not just for me but those around me for when I get out of here, to be a better person," Clark said.

"Right after class, I'm always waiting until the next. I wish it was a whole lot longer. I have a lot of fun in this class," Tony Peneaux said. "There's a camaraderie here, we all connect with one another. It's just cool to see that a lot of us are going through the same things and feel the same way."

O'Toole says that's the idea.

"For them to understand and for them to love it, it's more than we could have asked for when we started with this project. I'm excited to keep going with them, help them develop their narratives, develop their voices, develop into wonderful men," O'Toole said.

Once the inmates complete the writing course, they'll receive a certficate which will help them as they transition back into society, into parole and search for a job.