3 minute read
A Journey of Self-Discovery
Sixty-three, sober and just getting started, this is Joseph Valadez, Long Beach State University graduate.
by Chris Baltierra
Joseph Valadez poses with his degree from Long Beach State.
PHOTO BY MIGUEL DE LA ROSA, COURTESY OF JOSEPH VALADEZ
After a photo of Joseph Valadez holding his new sociology degree went viral in February, his story became the front page of the internet. He’s wearing his grad cap in the photo, along with pressed khakis and a tank top that exposes his tattoos.
“They say that ‘a picture is worth a thousand words.’ I’m here to debunk that stigma,” he wrote in the now-famous Facebook post.
“All I wanted was to stop putting needles in my arms. I’ve spent half my life in prison as a result of my addiction,” he wrote.
In high school, Valadez said he was actually a pretty good student with decent grades, but his counselors didn’t seem to notice.
Valadez said his counselors would recommend things like construction, landscaping, or becoming a mechanic, over attending university. But, despite having felt like he was passed over in that regard, Valadez isn’t holding onto any bad feelings.
“I got no animosities, I got no grudges, I got no hate. But that’s the way it was,” he said.
His relationship with heroin began in the 1970s, at the beginning of The War on Drugs, when the approach to drug use in the United States shifted to focus more on punishment, rather than rehabilitation.
There was one person who Valadez says always supported him, even in the worst times— his mother. He remembers being a teenager and thinking he could fool her by putting on sunglasses and walking into the house with a beer after shooting heroin into his arm.
It never worked, but it didn’t stop his mother from loving and supporting him always.
“My mom, she always knew. When women have kids, God throws a little extra in there that gives them that mother’s intuition,” explained Valadez.
Six years after his mother’s passing, he finally found out why his mother never gave up hope for him.
When Valadez was born, his mother was given a 50/50 chance of dying while giving birth; she was hemorrhaging and it wouldn’t stop. She ended up staying in the hospital for three weeks after.
“I never knew that story,” said Valadez, who heard it from his aunt. He said, “[It felt] like getting hit over the head with a sledgehammer. I realized why she always treated me special.”
By the time Valadez was about 55, he decided he’d had enough.
“I loved the streets. I just got tired of the consequences,” he explained.
So in 2013, and with six days of sobriety under his belt, Valadez entered The Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center (ARC) residential program.
He described his experience in the ARC program as nothing short of life-changing. In order to stay in the program, Valadez was required to come up with some sort of plan for his future.
“That’s where my ‘real-life’ began, where Joseph met Joseph,” he said about the program.
Valadez enrolled at Orange Coast Community College in Costa Mesa for his general education and later transferred to Long Beach State University to study sociology.
At LBSU, Valadez was known to speak about his past experiences in class. His unique perspective earned him the respect of not only his colleagues, but professors as well.
“For sociology, we’re thinking about ways in which we connect lived experience and contextualize them. [He is] really emotionally involved in what he’s learning about,” said professor Esa Syeed, who holds a doctorate in sociology.
As a way to give back, Valadez volunteers his time once a week at ARC. In the five years since, he has only missed five days, and that was for his finals.
Valadez believes people deserve a second chance, especially those like himself, who fell through the cracks of a flawed system. He plans to use his sociology degree to help at-risk youth. Valadez is currently waiting to enter the master’s program at LBSU.
For the people he meets who need support, whether it’s a phone call every once in a while, or even just “how are you?,” Valadez will be there. He knows what it’s like, he’s been there before.
Joseph Valadez poses with his degree from Long Beach State.
PHOTO BY MIGUEL DE LA ROSA, COURTESY OF JOSEPH VALADEZ
