Man who spent half his adult life in prison graduates with honors from Cal State Long Beach

LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) — A man who spent half of his adult life in prison has graduated from Cal State Long Beach.

In a Facebook post, Joseph Valadez says he finished his last two semesters on the “President’s Honor List” for getting straight A’s.

He also made the Dean’s List, graduating with a 3.67 GPA.

“There’s a misconception about guys like me that I want to break. If I can do it, anyone can,” said Valadez.

He’s currently awaiting acceptance to the master’s program in social work at the university.

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