BOSTON (WHDH) - Boston’s newest college students were honored Thursday by a local non-profit that helped them get to this point.
All of the students have overcome the odds to get an opportunity to work for a diploma, breaking their cycle of gang involvement by getting their degree.
“Today is a chance to celebrate them and recognize their hard work and accomplishment,” College Bound Dorchester Founder Marc Culliton said.
John Pereira says when he got out of prison, he needed help turning his life around.
“I had no assistance whatsoever in life,” he said. “I was back into my old criminal lifestyle because that was the only way I was getting any finances in life.”
That’s when College Bound Dorchester stepped in, helping him to get on track to go to school.
“(I had) nothing else in life going for me, coming out of jail six years, being homeless. The only thing I had in life was College Bound helping me,” Pereira said.
Now, Pereira is proudly pursuing higher education, alongside others with similar stories.
“If you give them an opportunity, if you get close to them, they choose college over the corner,” Culliton said.
Thursday’s ceremony was an inspiration for others with the same background to change their lives.
“Now I know I am in control of my own life and my own destiny,” Pereira said.
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