Portraits of a New Beginning: Ángel Sánchez

«My plan to graduate from law school was to complete a goal I started when I was 18: to gain the credibility that comes from studying. College is a bridge between two different worlds.»

Angel Sánchez grew up in an underprivileged neighborhood 117 in Miami, surrounded by guns, drugs and violence. He was handcuffed for the first time at the age of 8 and began a journey behind bars at the age of 13, with several repeat offenses. At 15, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison, where he studied and became a paralegal. While he was learning about the law, he says he discovered an error in his sentence and got it reduced to 12 years. He also set out to continue his studies: “I sent a letter to Valencia College in Orlando, and they responded by inviting me to visit them when I got out. This surprised me because my experience was that the bad world welcomed me but the good world wanted nothing to do with me.” He says he graduated first in his class with two degrees. He received a scholarship and continued his studies at the University of Central Florida and then, in 2017, at the University of Miami School of Law, where he graduated at the age of 37. “Obstacles can be turned into opportunities; that’s the mentality we have to have,” Angel says.

^{* The testimonies in "Portraits of a New Beginning" were collected and edited by Ana María Carrano, María Gabriela Méndez, Olivia Liendo and Tamoa Calzadilla, under the coordination of Olivia Liendo and Ana María Carrano.}

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