At-Risk Youth

The article that Prof. G. sent to us ("One Man's Journey from Gang Member to Academia") was very inspiring  and powerful to me.  The over all message that I got from it was that since one of Dr. Victor Rios' high school teachers saw his potential, took such an active role in helping him to achieve academic success, and didn't give up on him, he is able to do the same for at-risk youth today.  WOW!  Not that he's the only person who's taken a really bad childhood and turned it around for the good of himself and others, but he is ONE who's done so.  To me, it means that no matter what a person has endured in his/her life so far, it's always possible to achieve future success if he/she is willing to do the work and step outside the box -- maybe not in the traditional way, but as long as it's done legally and without intentionally stepping on others to get what he/she wants, it's still good.

One example of cultural competence and a positive impact made by Dr. Rios is expressed in a quote by Miguel (19-year-old, high school drop-out, and gang member) who's involved in the program/study to help the youth, "I felt like I can relate to him. . . He knows how to come at us, you know, and at what level of respect to come at us."  I can relate to that thought, because I believe that many people may need or want to be helped regarding their situations, but don't feel that there are people out there who really care about them -- or, that the "helpers" don't fully understand what they're going through since they haven't walked in their shoes.  Many well-meaning people in this world take the wrong approach to helping others (even if it's unintentional); thereby, making a bad situation worse.  So, the lesson here is:  Treat others the way that you'd like to be treated, and don't have an I-got-mine-you-get-yours-the-best-way-you-can mentality.