The message that Santiago Canyon School grad Charlie Nguyen has tattooed on his left wrist serves as a day by day reminder of how far he’s come after bottoming out at age 16: “No one is unworthy of redemption.”
Imprisoned for almost eight years after committing what he calls “a violent gang-related crime,” Nguyen discovered his personal redemption by persistence, exhausting work and whip-smart intelligence, together with essential help from Rising Students, an empowering SCC program that serves incarcerated, previously incarcerated and justice-impacted college students dealing with related challenges.
Right this moment, Nguyen, a grateful, centered pre-law sociology main at UC Berkeley, continues to provide again to these saddled with a tough background similar to his.
“I was born to two parents involved in gang life,” Nguyen mentioned. “They consumed a lot of drugs, and I was literally born into drugs.”
Adopted by his maternal grandmother, who raised him in a difficult atmosphere, he dropped out of college at 16.
Enrolled at SCC from 2021 to 2024, Nguyen earned 4 affiliate levels: liberal arts, humanities, sociology and psychology, the latter two transferable to a four-year college. He managed this, extremely, whereas incarcerated in Orange County Juvenile Corridor, thanks largely to Rising Students.
“I knew Charlie would be a successful student the first time I met him,” mentioned Albert Alvano, director of Rising Students and assistant professor and counselor at Santiago Canyon School’s Division of Persevering with Training. “I immediately saw his curiosity, his persistence and his advocacy for himself and his classmates.”
For greater than 30 years, earlier than what was initially known as “The Orange Campus” formally grew to become referred to as Santiago Canyon School, college have taught noncredit faculty programs in OC jails, specializing in such matters as parenting, substance abuse and workforce preparation. Counselors started visiting the off-site lecture rooms in 2016, providing steering and post-release instructional help. Two years later, as extra previously incarcerated college students began reaching out for assistance on the Santiago Canyon School campus, Rising Students (initially known as Venture RISE), was created.
Charlie Nguyen graduated from SCC in 2004 with 4 affiliate levels and a 3.77 GPA. (Picture courtesy of RSCCD Communications)
Final yr, Venture RISE was renamed Rising Students, two years after this system grew to become part of the California Group Schools’ Rising Students Community. By means of Rising Students, SCC started providing college-credit lessons within the three Orange County juvenile halls within the spring of 2021. Three years later, this off-site endeavor grew to become referred to as the Rising Students Juvenile Justice Program, a nod to a grant of the identical title furnished by the California Group Schools Chancellor’s Workplace.
Nguyen emphasised that Rising Students was important to his extraordinary turnaround. “At 16, I decided that school simply wasn’t for me,” he mentioned. “However the SCC counselors and college believed in me and gave me the house to have the ability to study. They instructed me that, one, it’s potential and, two, they’re going to assist me each step of the best way. I discovered that I beloved studying, and I needed to go to varsity.
“I didn’t know how to navigate higher education,” Nguyen mentioned. “That’s the biggest role that Rising Scholars has played for me. They provided me with textbooks, helped me to connect with professors and furnished all of the tools I needed to succeed. … I knew I was well on my way when I earned my first A in a real college course.”
“We make regular visits to juvenile hall, lead workshops, provide guidance — anything to meet the specific needs of our students,” Alvano mentioned. “We also have counselors who work, primarily via Zoom, on educational planning. And in some cases, we provide laptops for our students, those deemed eligible by their probation officers.”
Alvano careworn that Rising Students’ ongoing success is a collective effort. “The key to this program is our group of hard-working counselors, our counseling assistant and our dedicated faculty, as well as great support from the college administrators. It’s a team effort.”
The primary graduate of SCC’s Juvenile Justice Program, Nguyen is keen about social and legal justice, advocating for these typically discounted by society. To that finish, he serves as a program and outreach intern for the Boundless Freedom Venture, which furnishes Buddhist- and mindfulness-based companies to justice-impacted folks, in addition to advisory board coordinator for Cr8 Improvements, which seeks to furnish free housing to previously incarcerated college students. A future legal professional, he’d wish to in the future give attention to juvenile justice work or, extra broadly, serving the general public curiosity in some capability.
“People believed in me before I believed in myself: my legal team, my judge in the case and the staff at Juvenile Hall,” Nguyen mentioned. “SCC counselors and faculty were critical in helping me get off my feet. Since they saw me for more than my mistakes, I now do my best to believe in others.”
To these with the same background, Nguyen mentioned, “There are people who can help you. You just have to reach out. If you set your mind to a goal, anything is possible.”
