— Nicholas · FICGN Narrative Fellows
"A wise man once asked me how someone unlocks their full potential. The answer: by educating themselves." — Danny Roman, "Pop's Popeye," from WS Harpy's. Rest in Peace.
What changed for me wasn't just one moment. It was a series of hard truths that started hitting me every time I came home with nothing. No money, no direction, no real support system. Just the same problems waiting for me like I never left. I had to face the reality that if I didn't do something different, I was going to end up right back in that cycle, or worse, not make it out at all. I didn't have family to lean on. I didn't have anyone guiding me step by step. What I did have was a son I hadn't seen in years, and that stayed on my mind heavy.
The bond we once had faded over time, and that's something that still sits with me. But instead of letting that break me, it became my motivation. Knowing that one day he might look back and wonder who his father really was pushed me to move different. I wanted him to know that I never gave up. That no matter how far gone things looked, I kept going. I wanted to become someone he could be proud of, even from a distance.
When I got into Mt. San Antonio College, I wasn't walking in confident. When I first got there, I didn't even know how to use a laptop. I was learning everything from the ground up while trying to keep up with classes, deadlines, and a whole new environment. It was overwhelming at times, but I didn't quit. I stayed with it, one assignment at a time, one day at a time, just like I learned in recovery.
That's when I found the We Rise Recovery Club. That space became something real for me. It wasn't just a club. It was a community. When my regular NA meetings were happening during class times and I felt that disconnect, We Rise helped keep me grounded on campus. It gave me a place where I could still stay connected to recovery, still talk to people who understood, and still feel like I belonged somewhere.
Being around people who understood what I was going through made a difference. I didn't have to explain my past or pretend to be something I wasn't. They got it. We supported each other, not just in recovery but in school, in life, and everything that comes with trying to rebuild. That kind of support is real. It's the type of support that can keep someone from slipping back into old habits. We Rise didn't just help me stay focused. It helped keep me alive.
It also gave me purpose. I started to see that my story wasn't just something I survived. It was something I could use to help somebody else. There's always someone coming out right behind you, trying to figure it out the same way you did. If I could show them that change is possible, then everything I went through meant something.
At the same time, becoming part of the UCLA Bruin Underground Scholars Ambassadors Program took everything I was learning and pushed it to another level. That program opened my eyes to what higher education really looks like beyond community college. It wasn't just about transferring. It was about building a pipeline for people like me, people who come from incarceration, from broken systems, from backgrounds where education was never expected.
Through Underground Scholars, I attended workshops on public speaking, advocacy, leadership, and communication. These weren't just classes. These were tools. Tools that helped me learn how to tell my story in a way that could actually make an impact. Tools that helped me understand how to speak up not just for myself but for others who don't always get heard.
Underground Scholars is about more than just education. It's about belief. It's about showing students that they belong in these spaces, even if society told them otherwise. It's about creating opportunities and connections that stretch across campuses, building that bridge from community college to universities.
Education became something I never expected it to be. It became the foundation that helped me rebuild my life. It gave me structure, purpose, and direction. It taught me how to think differently, how to communicate, and how to plan for a future I never thought I would have. That wise man's question finally had a real answer for me. Unlocking my potential wasn't about talent or luck. It was about access, and about someone believing the door was worth opening.
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Programs like We Rise, Underground Scholars, and Project Rebound didn't just support me. They helped keep me alive. They gave me a reason to wake up and keep pushing, even when everything felt heavy. But these programs only work when institutions invest in them, protect them, and expand them. Every time a recovery club loses funding, every time a transfer pipeline gets cut, another person coming home faces those same heavy odds with nothing to catch them.
Now I'm not just thinking about my own success. I'm thinking about the next person coming home with nothing, just like I did. The one who feels lost, who feels like the system already decided their future. I want to be part of changing that. And I want the people who run colleges, who allocate budgets, and who make policy to understand that they have a role in this too.
I didn't come into this with money or resources. I came into this with nothing. But what I do have now is something stronger. I have direction. I have purpose. And I have proof that when the right support exists, people do more than survive. They lead.
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My son may be watching from a distance. So is every young person behind me who hasn't found their door yet. This journey is real, and for the first time in my life, I'm walking a path that leads somewhere. The question is whether we will build enough of those paths for everyone who deserves one.
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One national moment.
Nathan"Dear Admissions Rep… Formerly Incarcerated Students Deserve a Fair Chance, Not a Second Chance at an Education"Click icon above to readCommission an essay. Republish a fellow's piece. Book a fellow for a panel, webinar, or interview. Support the next cohort.
