One of the proudest moments of my life came in 2012 when I received my Associate of Arts degree and graduated as the class valedictorian. I realize that for some people earning a two year degree may seem like no big deal, but the fact that I did it while incarcerated at San Quentin made it extraordinary for me. Before coming to prison, I had failed at my two previous attempts at junior college without earning a single unit. It would take getting locked up and separated from society,before I'd start to buckle down. I was 33-yearsold when I completed my first Coastline College course in Geology and received an A. This milestone helped me to see the value in learning and gave me the confidence to go after an education I had all but given up on.