Teen Beats the Odds

Almost 200 students graduated from Orosi High School Thursday. Fresno State President Joseph Castro was the guest speaker, he spoke to the dozens of students about their future and the opportunities they have to succeed. A message that meant so much more to a former gang member who was among the graduates.

It was a big celebration at Orosi High School tonight, 176 students received their diploma and are headed to different paths of life. For one particular student, it’s a path that’s saving his life.

The smile and excitement in Jose Guerrero are that of a young man headed to a University to pursue a career, he’s graduating with a 3.8 GPA.

An accomplishment that just last year seemed unthinkable, Jose joined a gang at age 14. He was involved in many fights, including shootings and spent most of his time in juvenile hall and out of school.

"I didn’t wake up one day and choose to be a gangster, it just happened. I got labeled as one, I didn’t feel like it was wrong at the moment, they were my childhood friends," Jose Guerrero said.

Childhood friends who he says made him feel welcomed. He didn’t have a stable home growing up and was raised by a single mother who worked in the fields. The gang life style was all he knew until he realized there was more to life.

"My house was starting to get shot on a daily basis. I was getting into fights every single day. I would get out of juvenile hall and go back the next week. I needed a change in my life."

His family was terrified and their lives were in danger, but gaining the courage to leave the gang wasn’t easy. "I couldn’t find the strength to do it. I thought about it for like 6 months, I was just wanting to leave but I didn’t know where to go. I didn’t know what I was gonna do, I didn’t have any other friends besides them."

Still, he met up with them and told them he was done, knowing they would go after him, he walked away and never went back. "I had the rival gang trying to get me and now I had my ex friends trying to get me."

But his family and future was at the forefront. He pushed to be let back in school, took extra classes and excelled academically. Getting rid of his past also means getting rid of the tattoos that associate him with the gang. He knows they give a bad impression and wants to look professional.

"I’m really happy, I want them gone so bad. I don’t want them at all, its a step closer to feeling normal." A kind of normal he felt Thursday night as he received his diploma, also feeling a part of the better world.