Christopher Carson once found himself on a dangerous trajectory. He was born and raised on 107th Street and South Vermont Avenue, an area long acquainted with gang culture and the violence that accompanies it. “It’s what you’re used to when you live with it,” says Carson. “It’s what you know.” In 2016, a court convicted Carson of attempted murder and sentenced him to 12 years in prison. But for the steadfast love of family and friends, and the timely intervention of unexpected mentors, Carson might have succumbed to the hopelessness of the prison industrial complex and come to believe that he would only ever be defined by his mistakes. Instead, he joined some 4,400 other students on ... Read More