The message that Santiago Canyon College grad Charlie Nguyen has tattooed on his left wrist serves as a daily reminder of how far he’s come after bottoming out at age 16: “No one is unworthy of redemption.”

Imprisoned for nearly eight years after committing what he calls “a violent gang-related crime,” Nguyen found his own redemption through persistence, hard work and whip-smart intelligence, along with crucial assistance from Rising Scholars, an empowering SCC program that serves incarcerated, formerly incarcerated and justice-impacted students facing similar challenges.

Today, Nguyen, a grateful, focused pre-law sociology major at UC Berkeley, continues to give back to those saddled with a rough background comparable to his.

“I was born to two parents involved in gang life,” Nguyen sa

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