Former prisoner who studies medicine gets permission to do internship close to his family: 'Very happy'

Former prisoner is close to completing his medical course Personal archive/Disclosure To fulfill his dream of becoming a doctor, Wallace William da Costa, aged 47, lives more than 2 thousand km away from his wife and daughters. The student completed eight periods of medicine at the Federal University of Northern Tocantins (UFNT), in Araguaína. Now, he has obtained authorization to take part in the boarding school in Minas Gerais, the state where the family lives. ? Requests for boarding school transfers to other cities or states are a common practice among students at public universities. The internship lasts for a total of two years, and this mobility system allows the transfer of two to three periods. Wallace sent a request requesting the transfer of three subjects to UFNT in November 2025, and the document was received by the Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF) in April 2026. After months of waiting, UFJF has authorized, so far, the transfer of two of the three subjects. On vacation from classes, Wallace went to visit his family this July. "I'm very happy to be able to be close to my family. Being able to be close to them gives me and the girls [wife and daughters] more security. The transfer will be a huge help," he explained. MORE

g1 contacted UFNT and UFJF to request a position on the third discipline that remains pending authorization, but did not receive responses until the last update of this report. Close to family The student managed 60 days of internship in the state of Minas Gerais. He said that the authorization will facilitate the care and maintenance of the family, which was previously carried out remotely. One of his four daughters has Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), support level 3. "She started convulsing, became completely rigid, struggled in the car and her sisters were desperate. I managed to provide assistance and soon after the crisis, she blacked out. She ended up being hospitalized. Thank God it worked out, because I wouldn't be able to return [to Araguaína]", reported Wallace. The new phase of studies should begin in August, after the bureaucratic procedures are completed. Wallace continues to look forward to the start of internship. "Now I will focus on studies, on the topics of prevalent diseases. Learning protocols, referrals and the things that will be necessary in everyday life. But now, it is a total focus on prevention and the main diseases", he said. In 2025, Wallace was approved in a public competition for a doctor position in Minas Gerais. The competition was approved in April 2026. According to him, the expectation is that he will be able to complete the course within the validity period to take office. Wallace William da Costa, 47 years old, studies medicine at UFNT. Personal Archive/Wallace William Story of overcoming Wallace was arrested when he was 18 years old, in 1997, for drug trafficking. And while he served four years in a closed regime, he decided to study to change his life. "I looked through the bars and saw a beautiful moon, and I realized at that moment that it wasn't doing me any good. The following week I started studying at the penitentiary," said Wallace. In the remaining two years, already on probation, he studied Nursing, graduated and started working. Wallace studied for the National High School Exam (Enem) and managed to pass, in 2023, the Medicine course at the Federal University of Northern Tocantins. The Court of Justice of Minas Gerais confirmed compliance with the sentence and the extinction of punishment. See more news from the region on g1 Tocantins.

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