“Underground Scholars does more than provide a support community to formerly incarcerated students on campus. They work to educate the campus community about the perspectives of and challenges faced by formerly incarcerated students, mobilize to overcome barriers to success, and proactively support formerly incarcerated students applying to join the campus community. And they have been core partners in building LIFTED, the first University of California bachelor’s program for incarcerated students.”

Keramet Reiter, Professor, UCI Social Ecology

“Underground Scholars provides a critical voice and support for our students here are UCI who are formerly justice-system-involved.”

Katie Tinto, Professor, UCI Law School

“As I awaited my decision from UCI’s admissions office in 2018, I received my second DUI and was jailed multiple times for fighting, public intoxication, and disturbing the peace. As a result, I began part of my first quarter at UCI on house arrest and spent some nights in jail. This made me feel as though I did not belong on campus. Fortunately, I met Hector from the Underground Scholars Initiative (USI) in the first weeks of the 2018 fall quarter before I began my house arrest, and he made me understand that the struggles that I had overcome up to that point made me deserving of the opportunity to study at UCI, for I had prevailed over barriers that other students would have faltered over.

His sentiments struck me, and I gained comfort in knowing that there were people with a similar background on campus—I was not alone. More importantly, after completing my house arrest, I began to attend USI meetings regularly, and it has changed my trajectory in a positive manner. Prior to making contact with the student-led organization, I did not ponder about graduate school, but now I plan to apply to graduate programs and continue my pursuit of knowledge. USI has facilitated my growth at UCI and motivated me to fulfill my true potential. In the summer of 2018, I was scared of the prospect of failing at UCI and succumbing to the negative perceptions that others had of my being; contrastingly, I am now going into the summer of 2020, and I am excited about the prospect of attending graduate school and confirming the perception of myself that the USI members have instilled in me—one of perseverance, success, strength, and triumph.”

Jesus Adan, UCI Student

“UC Irvine was a totally different encounter from my community college experience. Honestly, it has its pros and cons but just the simple fact that I had gotten as far as I did makes me appreciate the campus a lot more. My experience at UC Irvine turned phenomenally more fulfilling after I found the Underground Scholars of UC Irvine, I felt like I was at home again. Words cannot explain the feeling inside of me when I met the men and women that genuinely understand my struggles due to their own personal experiences.

The Underground Scholars of UC Irvine helped me navigate a vision for my higher educational plans and blessed me with friendships that are difficult to find for formerly incarcerated students in America. Statistics show that the majority of people that come out of prison or jail return eventually while students that get an education show an opposite trend. This organization at UC Irvine has assured my vision and hopes for having a flourishing future waiting for me. I hope and wish that the Underground Scholars of UC Irvine stay everlasting for future anteaters to experience this gift.”

Ester Mendez, UCI Student

As a first-generation Chicano on my father’s side and second on my mother’s side, I was raised between two cultures. My parents met in Mexico City and when they came over to the states, my father began his journey employed as a gardener while he and my mother lived with my grandmother. My parent’s split when I was 8 years old, largely due to my father’s alcoholism and my mother returned to college soon after where she received a bachelor’s degree from University of California, Irvine (UCI) and then a master’s degree from University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC). I was too young to understand how important higher education was, rather I simply felt neglected as an only child when my mother holed herself in a room studying. As a budding teenager the relationship with my mother grew tumultuous and she told me that I could not live with her anymore, so I moved in with my father and grew to adulthood in his house. I built a successful career in music which made a formal education seem unnecessary but after years of substance abuse and chaos, at the age of 28 with multiple criminal charges, I was facing years in prison. With good representation I served only a fraction of that time in county jail but once released, I had to reexamine who I wanted to be and where I wanted to go. I was encouraged by my mother, girlfriend, and former marijuana dealer to go back to school. It was the best decision I could have ever made. I found great strength and purpose in expanding my knowledge on subjects that interested me and this foundation gave more legitimacy to my community service work.

“I was encouraged by my mother, girlfriend, and former marijuana dealer to go back to school. It was the best decision I could have ever made. I found great strength and purpose in expanding my knowledge on subjects that interested me and this foundation gave more legitimacy to my community service work.”
– Gabe Rosales

With my mother, a multiple UC alumna, I knew attending a UC was possible but for who I was, and where I had been, I was not sure if a UC was the best place for me. Many of my community college counselors encouraged a California State University, which seemed like more of a safe bet. After changing my major multiple times, I settled on criminology and after researching UC Irvine’s criminology department, I decided to set my sights on attending there. The department was nationally known, and the job transfer rates were high. My last semester at community college, my father died in Mexico and during my spring break, I returned to Mexico to cremate his body and bring back his ashes. The day of his funeral I received my acceptance letter from UC Irvine, and it meant everything to me. As an older student, who had traveled internationally, battled substance abuse, and been incarcerated, I felt like an island during my undergraduate studies at UCI which began in 2015. I had little in common with most of the student body. This did not affect my drive however I did not feel like I had shared values with many because of my life experiences. It was not until after I had graduated was I aware of student organizations of formerly incarcerated students and then worked with current students at UCI to get an Underground Scholars chapter established. I am about to return to UCI to begin a doctoral degree and I am ecstatic and eager. Opportunities are continuously presenting themselves from my colleagues and from the UC organizations with which I have built relationships. I can see change happening in real-time and for this I am eternally motivated and grateful.

I came from a nice middle-class family. In 1969 we moved into a predominantly white neighborhood. We were one of two LatinX families on our street. At 10 years old everything changed when my mother died. My only sibling (my sister) moved out 2 years later, and my father did what he could to raise me. Latch key kid by 12 years old. I was always looking for acceptance, fell in with the wrong crowd, moved out of the house when I was 17. I dropped out of high school my junior year with a 0.12 GPA.  Within 6 months of my 18th birthday I got 2 DUI’s, spent my 19th birthday doing a 90-day sentence. Over the next 7 years I was in and out of jail. The last time I was arrested was in 1992, I did a total of 9 months, 3 outstanding warrants, 10 different counts, with one of them being my first minor possession of methamphetamine. While I was incarcerated, I received my GED through a Santiago Adult Education program that was offered. I also started to attend AA/NA meetings. Upon my release, I relocated into a sober living home. I applied for General Relief, and I was living on food stamps. I did not have a penny to my name.  I began working in a restaurant as a server. I had always dreamed of going back to school, but the service industry took a hold of me. With my lack of education, the only thing I could do was to continue in the food industry business. I became a service manager, operational manager, General manager, and lastly a regional manager for a well-known restaurant chain. The money was good, but I was miserable. My quality of life was extremely unfulfilled. Still in the back of my head, I wanted a college education, but I never thought I was good enough or smart enough to learn with a 0.12 GPA my last semester in high school. 

“Being at a UC has made all the difference in my life. Prior to attending college, I was doomed to work the rest of my life in the food service industry, unsatisfied, and miserable. It has given me a whole new outlook on life as I am now attending my last quarter before graduating with a BA in Sociology. The challenges of being a formerly incarcerated, non-traditional, alcoholic/drug addict, LatinX student was indeed my prerequisite for being who I am today.”
– Henry Dominic Rodriguez

In 2014 I attended my niece’s graduation from California State University Long Beach (CSULB). She received her master’s in teaching. This was the first college graduation I had ever attended. Neither my sister nor I ever graduated high school much less college. I saw individuals who were my age that were graduating. I was very envious of this; I wanted the same for myself. Being an alcoholic and an addict in recovery had gotten me into being a productive member of society, however I still suffered from low self-esteem still thinking I was not good enough to go to college. The stigma of being a convict, a drunk, and addict, with only 3 years of high school education had prevented me from seeking anything else than what I already was, a 47 year old man who worked 14 hours a day 5-6 days a week.  I had the opportunity to enroll in a community college, and I made the decision that I would go, and graduate to receive my AA.  At my community college, I was extremely self-conscious, often mistaken for a professor. There were no computers in schools when I was in high school. I did not know how to do homework online, had never been in a study group, did not know how to do research online, etc. There were very few my age. I soon acclimated, became a part of a mentorship program that helped other non-traditional students just like myself learn the ropes, and learn how to become a part of. It took me 3 years to complete, and I graduated with a 3.79 GPA. My graduation was the first graduation my 82-year-old father ever attended for any of his children. 

My choice to attend a UC was not until my last semester of my community college year. Again, I thought it was out of my reach, that I was not smart enough, much less could afford it. (I was on FAFSA those 3 years). My EOPS counselor had informed me that my grades would allow me to attend a UC. I applied to UCLA, UC Berkeley, and UCI. I also applied for 3 Cal States just in case (remember low self-esteem). I was accepted to every school I had applied to. I chose UCI because it was close to my aging father, and the reputation superseded any other local college or university, and the School of Social Science’s academia was one of the best in the state. Being at a UC has made all the difference in my life. Prior to attending college, I was doomed to work the rest of my life in the food service industry, unsatisfied, and miserable. It has given me a whole new outlook on life as I am now attending my last quarter before graduating with a BA in Sociology. The challenges of being a formerly incarcerated, non-traditional, alcoholic/drug addict, LatinX student was indeed my prerequisite for being who I am today. Contrary action and learning how to ask for help were key, especially at my age (now 53). 

Upon my enrollment at UCI and my first quarter, I found myself in the same spot I was in my very first semester of community college. Only exception was that there was no mentorship program to help me acclimate to my new university. It was then when a friend of mine who transferred with me saw a flyer for Underground Scholar Initiative @ UCI. I went to a presentation that was given to explain what USI was. When I saw that it was an organization for formerly incarcerated students in higher education, I knew I was home. It was everything that I had been looking for since my very first day of community college. The Underground Scholars Initiative (USI) at UC Irvine has allowed me to adapt to a new family in the UC system and at every other UC in the state. As a co-chair this past year, I attended a statewide convening that included members from every UC. We speak the same language; we face the same trials and tribulations regarding our pasts. We are truly brothers and sisters, and USI will be what I remember the most from my 5 years of college. I will be forever grateful to USI and I am excited to be a member of USI as a UCI alumnus.