USC alumnus overcomes poverty, drugs to graduate

If you asked USC alumnus Daniel Rodriguez how he has accomplished so much after a past that has included drug addiction, homelessness, poverty and a host of other challenges, his answer would be simple.

“Everything that I do, I do because of my grandmother,” Rodriguez said. “I feel like I am validating what she thought of me, the faith that she had in me. I want to inspire others who have suffered similar experiences as I have.”

It is this conviction that has carried 57-year-old Rodriguez through life. After living on Skid Row, being shot seven times and kicking a cocaine habit, Rodriguez graduated from USC and has started several nonprofit foundations.

His early life was riddled with gang-related issues and drug abuse. Rodriguez moved from New York City to Los Angeles in 1979 with just $36, plus the $100 his mother had loaned him. He began his life in Los Angeles on Skid Row, which boasts one of the largest stable homeless population in the United States.

From 1979 to 1991, Rodriguez worked during the day, but at night, he bet on horse races and used his winnings to fuel a cocaine habit. He said his days were dangerous, living moment to moment without security.

“All I did was play the horses, use cocaine and party every night,” Rodriguez said.

After one incident, he spent 30 days in the hospital because of a bullet wound. His drug habit was so bad he was not even aware of the pain of his injuries.

“In 1981, I got shot like seven times,” Rodriguez said, lifting up a sleeve to reveal the scars of a deep bullet wound. “This was my first bullet, broke my arm. But I was fortunate because none of the bullets hit any vital organs, and none of them needed surgery. But some of them are still lodged in my body.”

But Rodriguez received a wake-up call one night in the spring of 1991. Originally from the Dominican Republic, he called home to talk to his grandmother. He quickly learned that his grandmother had died. He said he then made an important decision: to give away all of his drugs to a friend and sign up for the fall semester of Los Angeles Trade Tech Community College.

Even while living on Skid Row, Rodriguez threw himself into his studies.

“I was living in a room,” Rodriguez said. “I would spend 14 hours at school just so I wouldn’t have to go back. I would get there at seven in the morning and leave at seven at night.”

By the time he graduated in 1994, Rodriguez had made the Dean’s Honor List, the President’s List and the Distinguished Students List. He was his class valedictorian and spoke at graduation, but he said he could not find a job.

“Not even as a dishwasher could I get a job,” Rodriguez said. “Even with the degree, I didn’t have the know-how. This is a guy who came from the streets, so I didn’t know how to go about getting a job.”

Without a job or anything to occupy his time, Rodriguez ended up getting arrested for possession of a small amount of cocaine. He was sent to the Drug Court program, which helped him to get the charges dropped. Then, he went back to school. At this point, he was more knowledgeable about the school system and knew what to do in order to transfer to a four-year university. He set his sights on USC, where he continued his studies as a transfer student.

In 1998, while applying for a scholarship, the director of a scholarship noticed Rodriguez was living on Skid Row, and immediately transferred him to Webb Tower. He ended up graduating from USC with honors.

Soon after, he applied and was accepted to the USC School of Social Work, but he was distracted by the sudden death of his brother.

“I was using and drinking again, so eight weeks before I graduated, my supervisor suggested I take a break,” Rodriguez said. “The next fall, I tried to do the year again, but in February I stopped again.”

Struggling with alcohol and drug abuse, Rodriguez officially withdrew from USC and entered a nine-month rehabilitation program. Following rehab, he enrolled in California State University, Los Angeles, and contacted USC about finishing his degree in social work. On March 13, 2011, Rodriguez received his degree from USC.

Today, Rodriguez is working at the Leadership and Empowerment Foundation, which works with at-risk high school students, and is a counselor at the rehabilitation center he visited, where he has started the Hope and Faith Foundation. He created both of these organizations through the School of Social Work with the help of its faculty.

“USC is my family, they treat me well,” Rodriguez said. “USC aided me, assisted me and helped me out when I needed it most. Had it not been for USC, I probably would have ended up dead somewhere, but I knew I had something to prove, and to try for and that was USC. That was the motive that kept me going.”

Rodriguez has recently completed a manuscript of his story, which is currently being sold in the Trade Tech bookstore. He plans on attending the Peoples College of Law in Los Angeles next fall to receive a law degree. After that, he intends to return to the Dominican Republic to participate in politics and make a positive difference in his home country.

“My work is done here, and the kids I’m working with now are going to carry on what I’ve started,” Rodriguez said. “My time left is short, and I’m ready to move on.”

Looking back on his experiences, Rodriguez is eager to acknowledge all that he has accomplished, and the impact he has made in Los Angeles.

“My legacy is that, ‘You can do it,’ and that there is always a way to get out of it,” Rodriguez said. “You cannot make yourself a victim or blame others for what happened to you. I believe that there are only decisions, not wrong or right decisions, but decisions. You make decisions, and you have to live with the consequences.”

Looking back at the trials and tribulations in his life so far, Rodriguez remembered the importance of legacies. Just as he was inspired to work hard because of his grandmother, he hopes that his  own children and grandchildren are inspired as well.

“When my daughter saw me graduate with my bachelor’s degree, she turned her life around,” Rodriguez said. “It makes me believe that my grandkids and great-grandkids are going to go to school. My daughter, who is just eight years old, is already telling me, ‘Dad, I want to be a Trojan.’”