THE BRONX (PIX11) -- This is graduation season, a time to hand out diplomas and to look forward to the future in college or the business world. Tuesday was an uplifting day for one group of graduates as they received their diplomas on Rikers Island.

Forty-three detainees who have been serving time, but using the time for their own good, celebrated their graduation. Eighteen of them attended a ceremony at the lockup facility. It was inspirational as they received their diplomas while still in custody.

They gained their education by attending daily classes at East River Academy, located on Rikers Island. With diplomas in hand, these men and women recognized it would provide them with a better future.

"To be honored as graduates was no easy feat," Wayne Harris, who is being held at the facility, said. "Myself and many of my fellow detainees suffered self-doubt, self-sacrifice, and a lack of self-love."

Harris not only received his diploma but was among those singled out for special honors and was recognized as a mentor and model student who earned the spirit award.

"I feel great, I feel excited, I feel relieved that I finally got this out of the way," he told PIX11 News. "I'm ready to move on."

Mayor Eric Adams inspired the young inmates with an impassioned speech, sharing a story of his own arrest as a teenager and his determination to uplift himself and make his mother proud. 

"When you get your diplomas today, I want you to stand up, lean back, be firm and strong and say 'I got this. When does the hard part start? I'm finished with the hard part. Now I'm moving forward to my destiny on what I want to accomplish,'" Adams said.

Keynote speaker Jarrell Daniels earned his GED on Rikers Island and is now a Truman Scholar at Columbia University's School of General Studies.

"I came back today to empower each and every one of you who graduates today and to tell you this is not the end. Although we're here celebrating and congratulating you, this is the first step in your journey toward self-transformation," said Daniels.

The graduates celebrated briefly with their families before returning to serving their remaining time. But the folks who educated them will maintain contact with them to ensure that when they leave Rikers, they'll have a plan for their future so they won't ever return.