Victor Rios left behind violent gang life in West Oakland
Dr. Victor Rios is one of the few and the lucky. Raised by a single mother of four on welfare in a rough Oakland neighborhood, he found out early that gang life was an easy path to gain acceptance.
Gang life offers the young and impoverished many of the things they might not be getting from their families; access to resources, a sense of belonging, and perceived importance. Many kids like Victor get involved early at age 13 or 14. The gang life becomes the center of their life and the source for everything — income, love, respect, drugs and alcohol.
Gang members often graduate from simple petty theft to larger crimes. Seemingly innocent youthful indiscretions gradually become more intense. Before they know it, they are sucked into a violent cycle of crime, with all that risks that come from it. Few graduate high school. Some are killed along the way. Many are incarcerated.
In Victor’s case, witnessing the murder of one of his best friends and then his uncle became the straw that signaled it was a time for a change. Already having spent time in juvenile hall, he didn’t know how he would move forward in life. He didn’t have the knowledge to navigate the world outside of the gang life or out of poverty.
That’s when one of his teachers stepped in and helped direct his path. She helped him find a job and advocated with other teachers to give him extra credit work so he could get his grades back up. Most gang members do not perform well in school. Most never graduate. But Victor worked hard to graduate high school, and eventually moved well beyond what most students ever do.
A mentor came into his life that continued to feed him with both opportunities and confidence. He was accepted into UC Berkeley and eventually earned his Phd in comparative ethnic studies in 2005. He now serves as a professor of sociology at UC Santa Barbara.
Victor believes that much of his success is due to finding adults that could assist him in navigating a system he never understood. Most of these gang kids never have the opportunity to succeed because they often lack the access to the right programs.
Today Dr. Rios is an author of multiple books on underserved communities and is widely sought out as a speaker and an expert resource for school districts. He is an advocate for youth and the disenfranchised.
He considers himself to be a lucky one and he surely was. His success came from his willingness to do the hard work required to become a Phd., along with the opportunity that he was given to pursue.
A willingness to work hard along with opportunities are the formula for success. You need both to succeed. Early adversities can serve as the fuel, and as an ongoing reminder of the purpose of the pursuit.
See Dr. Rios share more of his journey in the video link here: https://www.ted.com/talks/victor_rios_help_for_kids_the_education_system_ignores
This article was created from existing information available from online sources.