Throughout our ongoing look at community colleges across America, a number of guests mentioned the name Angel Sanchez. We heard about him at Valencia College, from college president Sandy Shugart; we heard about him in our conversation of scholarships. So we thought we should meet him ourselves. 

The story of Angel Sanchez begins in a rough neighborhood in Miami, where he was involved in the gang life by his early teens. At age 15, he had been incarcerated in an adult prison. And by age 16, he was facing 30 years for attempted murder in a gang-related shooting. 

Today, though, Angel Sanchez is a 33-year-old honors student at the University of Central Florida, sparked by taking classes at a college community. He was in solitary confinement for fighting when he received his GED diploma under the slit in the door.