Arnold Trevino Crim 1 - Grade: A+ PDF

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Arnold Trevino yearly guest speaker essay...

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To:

Mr. T

From: Camryn Tate Subject: Arnold Trevino

Arnold Trevino is a man who grew up loving the fast life, drugs, fights, girls. When he was sentenced to life in prison in 1987, he was content with continuing to fight and drink and stay in maximum security for the rest of his life. This was until he earned his first diploma behind bars, then everything changed. He wanted to learn about everything, he became more interested in the life that was on the other side of the bars, and he began to change the direction of his life. While in prison, he received a degree in liberal arts, welding certifications, and an FAA registry, but he didn’t want to stop there. After leaving prison in 2011, he worked as a welder, but soon realized that he would either work a minimum wage job for the rest of his life, or go back to school and make something of himself, and that’s what he chose to do. He first went to Porterville College, and took one class at a time, just to make sure this was what he wanted to do, all the while working graveyard shifts to pay for college. After graduating from Porterville College, Arnold transferred to Fresno State University, but the struggle didn’t stop there. Arnold faced many more challenges, including being homeless, living in his car, and getting through life and school as a felon. He was removed from the social work program multiple times due to his criminal record not allowing him to participate in required aspects of the program, but it always seemed to work out in one way or another, and Arnold received his B.A in Social Work.. During his undergraduate studies, he helped launch Project Rebound at Fresno State. Project Rebound is a program designed to help people who have been previously incarcerated and are interested in pursuing higher education. Arnold was the first student in

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Project Rebound, but now their group is 25 students large. After completing his B.A, he continued on to get his masters. He was accepted into the masters program, but faced the same struggles regarding his criminal record, but Arnold never gave up and never took no for an answer from anyone. He graduated from Fresno State with his M.S.W in 2019, and also received a Graduate Dean’s Medalist. Arnold still has a connection to Avenal State Prison, where his love for learning began, but now on the other side of the bars. He volunteers there weekly, usually with other Project Rebound students, teaching the prisoners about gardening, and about the possibility of leaving prison and furthering their education. Arnold’s story meant a lot to me on a personal aspect. My father is a convicted felon who has been out of prison since 2004. We share a huge love for learning and he often tells me about how much he loved college when he went, and studying computer science, and how he wishes it wasn’t “frowned upon” for “someone like him” to go to college. He still loves technology and didn’t let this stop him completely, but as someone who also has a passion for education, I completely understood why it was such a downer for him. Before hearing Arnold speak this evening I obviously didn’t know much about the school system relating to those who had been previously incarcerated, but after leaving I am so excited to share what I learned about Project Rebound with my dad. Even if it’s not something he would still be interested in, I know he would love the fact that it’s an opportunity for someone and that a program like this does exist.. Another way I felt connected to his story was that I am also a social work major, and one category of work I have always felt drawn to, was those who are currently or have previously been incarcerated. I feel like people with a criminal record are always perceived in the same way, even though they are all still human and are all completely unique. I do believe I would enjoy working with this demographic for this reason.

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