Special to The Rip

Bakersfield College student James White, 38, wants to combine his personal experience and a good education to help kids stay away from drugs and gangs.
“I know what is to be out there, and I want kids to know the truth about the whole thing,” said White.
In 1984, at age 14, White joined one of the biggest gangs in the Los Angeles area: Crips. At the boom of cocaine use, he decided to sell drugs to make money.
“Everyone in the neighborhood was doing it,” said White.
He admitted that it was not poverty or the lack of guidance that led him into gangs. “I lived with both parents and they both had good jobs,” said White. “It was the peer pressure that got me involved. ”
When he was 16 years old, he moved to Louisiana and then to Colorado where he continued selling drugs, and in 1988 he moved back to California. White said he was making lots of money from drugs.
“When I moved back to California, I sold drugs until 1993 when I got arrested and was convicted for attempted murder. During my 23rd birthday party, my friend got into a fight, and?I?shot the other guy,” said White.
White served six years in prison and after his release, he stayed out for 45 days just to be sent to prison again.
“After I got out, I was arrested three more times for probation violations and for selling dope,” said White.
White explained that it was the money that kept him in the gang world. “I sold drugs just for the money. I never did any kind of drug, not even marijuana,” said White.
As White said, everyone needs a motivation to change direction in life.
“In 2001, I was arrested by the FBI. Luckily, they got me before I got the drugs,” said White. This time in prison after a physical examination, White discovered he was suffering renal failure. “I found out about my kidney failure, and also that I was going to be a father,” White said. “Then I had to think about my treatment and raising my daughter.”
After he got out this time, White tried to make some changes to his way of living.
“I got enrolled in BC in 2002, but, to be honest, I was just thinking about the check from financial aid,” said White. “I was not ready to make a significant change.”
During 2002, he was put in dialysis and suffered depression for the next couple of years. “At this time I was watching the news, watching how the younger generation was on the wrong track. I got calls from friends that were in prison. They told me to try to help kids to avoid that kind of life,” White said.
In 2007, White had to be hospitalized. “The time I spent at the hospital made me think about my life, and, after talking to my girlfriend Yolanda, I decided to take school seriously. She has been a very important part of my life,” said White.
White intended to major in business, but after a student development class, he changed his mind. “I wanted to make a lot of money, but an exercise in a class I’m taking made me realize that I want to be in the counseling field,” said White.
Bakersfield College counselor Sue Granger-Dickson instructs the student development class that White is currently taking. She is convinced that White will accomplish his goal as a student. “He is focused on succeeding in his education primarily because he wants to encourage others to make different choices in their lives so that they do not suffer like he has,” said Granger-Dickson.
“James would be a great counselor because of his effective communication skills and sense of humor.? He is an effective listener, speaker and writer.? He bonds quickly and well with almost everyone he meets,” Granger-Dickson said.?
White is changing his major to sociology and hopes that he can help kids to prevent them from living the kind of life he lived.
“I want to get my A.A. in sociology and then transfer to CSUB to get my bachelor’s degree. I’m not trying to be a role model, but if I can help one person, then I’ll feel that my time is not wasted,” said White.
White finished last semester with a 3.4 GPA and is currently passing all his classes this semester.
“I sat in prison for years doing nothing. Going to college, and doing something is easy. The hard part of my life is over,” White said.
He admitted it is still tempting to go back to selling drugs, but his daughter, his girlfriend, school and his condition help him focus on what he wants.
“Of course I’m tempted to sell drugs especially when I see all the bills piling up, but that is not going to happen,” said White. “I feel less stressful. After every class, I feel accomplished, and it feels good.”
White’s dream is to open a group home to help gang members straighten out their lives. Also he wants to start a non-profit organization to help at-risk youth.
“I can’t tell a person what to do, but I can tell a kid what not to do,” said White.
White has been in dialysis for almost six years. He is on the transplant list waiting for a kidney.
“My kidney failure is a blessing that gave me time to think and turn my life around,” he said.