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Postcards from the College Journey [1]
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Date: 2022-12
I was incarcerated at 18, and was released in September 2021 – and two days later, I was on the Lassen campus.
You have a lot of time to think about things, and I decided in my early 20s that getting an education would be key. I spent almost the whole decade inside trying to better myself. Participate in classes, go to college. But I just couldn’t get in anywhere. It was really hard. The process was too long, or I couldn’t get the textbooks, or even the Scantrons that I needed.
It wasn’t until CCC that I ended up getting into a good college program. I stopped by the CCC firehouse, and could see they were pro-education. It was a whole different environment. I didn’t expect to be able to go outside of the prison and respond to emergencies as an actual firefighter.
I got used to it: I was already committed anyway, and I knew I wanted to get my degree. I started the program back in 2020, and ended up graduating in the fall of 2021. When you have all day just to study, you can make it happen for sure.
I’m continuing my education, and I just got accepted to CSU Los Angeles. The thing about the fire classes is that those are offered online, asynchronous. So that’s perfect for me, as I can keep doing my career as a firefighter for CAL Fire here, and still continue my education.
Transitioning out of prison was a little easier because I had been going out into the community for the last two years at the firehouse. We would fight fires, go to traffic collisions, answer medical calls, you know, deal with the public. Sometimes evacuations. Being around people was great.
I used to think my parents didn’t encourage much education. But as I’ve gotten older, I realized that they probably wanted us to pursue it, but they just never said it. They never finished college or even high school, they came to the United States when they were young. They wanted me to succeed, but just being immigrants, they didn’t really know how.
As a first generation American, I have to kind of figure things out. I’m the oldest of six kids, and I have one little brother that is doing a vocational technical school, but the rest are in their 20s and started working immediately without any other education.
I work 24-hour-shifts, three times a week, I’m taking five classes right now, I hardly have any downtime to myself. I know for sure I can be a mentor someday. But, at this moment in my life, I’ve been away for so long. I feel like I’ve still got to prove myself, lead by example, and then provide some advice after they see my success.
— Interview and photo by Nick Fouriezos
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[1] Url:
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