After A Life Of Drugs And Prison, OC Man Earns Master's Degree From CSU Long Beach

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — One Orange County man is proving that its never too late to achieve greatness in the face of adversity, NBC Los Angeles reported.

Orange County resident and Army veteran Joseph Valadez was 11 years old when he started getting arrested, and 12 when he started doing drugs. After spending over 30 years in and out of prison and battling a severe drug dependency, he now is a Cal State Long Beach graduate with a master's degree in sociology under his belt.

“The system tried to throw him away, but he’s still here persevering,” Steven Osuna, an associate professor of sociology at CSU Long Beach, told NBC Los Angeles.

To learn more about the inspiring Joseph Valadez, the man changing his life with a master's degree in sociology, read the full story on NBC Los Angeles.