A Straight-A Recovery : Education: William Alexander Jr. hit bottom when his drug habit cost him his job. He checked into rehab, then, at 45, enrolled at L.A. City College. Tonight, he speaks at commencement as valedictorian of his class.

The valedictorian at tonight’s Los Angeles City College commencement ceremony will speak from experience when he urges his 550 classmates to look with optimism to the future.

Former cocaine addict William Alexander Jr. is happy to forget about the past.

‘It’s a miracle I’m here, actually,” said the man who emerged from a series of rehabilitation centers to become a straight-A student. “I could never imagine this. Never.”

On Tuesday, Alexander was among 23 psychology students who completed an unusual Alcohol/Drug Studies program at the Vermont Avenue campus. It turned out he was not the only one who had lived the curriculum, and not just read about it in textbooks.

Classmate Paul Foucher, arrested more than 100 times on drug-related charges, now is headed for UC Berkeley. Linda Young, in the grip of alcoholism four years ago, is UCLA bound.

“These people found a place where they were respected as human beings,” said Ned Doffney, City College’s vice president. “This is a place that accepts you as you come.”

But even by City College standards, the 47-year-old Alexander’s turnaround was spectacular.

He remembers being reluctant to sign up for classes two years ago when curiosity led him to the campus. Earlier, he had hit rock bottom when drug use cost him his job as a bus driver.

“I never thought of myself as college material. I had no self-confidence,” he said. “I asked myself, ‘How would it be at age 45 to be back in school?’ I couldn’t believe it when one of the teachers I talked to that day told me I’d make it.”

Raised in Chicago, Alexander remembers trying to run away from home at age 7.

“I grew up thinking there was something wrong with being black. The drugs and alcohol relieved those feelings, but it was deceptive.”

Alexander was working as a long-distance bus driver and spending $3,000 a month on cocaine when he bottomed out. He had sold investment property and personal belongings to support his habit.

“I thought I could control it. I’d always told myself I’d never deal or steal, but I stole $33 in cash fares from Greyhound. I said, ‘That’s it.’ ”

Using sick leave, Alexander checked himself into the first of three hospitals. On his first day out of the rehabilitation center, he says he returned to the bus company and repaid the $33.

After enrolling in college, Alexander, who now lives in the Pico district, rented a tiny bachelor apartment in Altadena. He put his television set in storage.

Once he started studying and found himself pulling in A grades, he never stopped. “I’ve basically had no life,” he said with a laugh.

Along with the school’s regular required courses, Alexander and others in the substance-abuse studies program were required to complete 13 specialty classes, including three semesters of field work in local counseling and rehabilitation centers.

Some of the work was stingingly familiar: One class dealt with the effect of substance abuse on the family and workplace, another with the issue of relapse.

Launched four years ago, the alcohol/drug studies program is set up to train students for immediate employment in rehabilitation and counseling centers, said Shirley Krauthamer, head of City College’s Department of Psychology.

The program is modeled after a similar certificate program at Saddleback College in Orange County, according to psychology teacher Robert Kort. Students do not have to be high school graduates to enroll if they are over 18. Most classes are offered at night to accommodate those with children or with day jobs.

“I’ve seen people right out of prison come here,” said Kort, himself a 1948 graduate of City College and a faculty member since 1961. “Their minds are still in prison. They come in with zero in terms of confidence.

“A fair number don’t make it--there are relapses. It takes a strong person to stay focused. But it’s incredible when someone who started out in the gutter gets their head straight enough to come to school.”

Students must have been sober for at least a year to enroll, school officials said. Some are still living in halfway houses when they attend class.

Foucher, 45, was on probation when he signed up for the program two years ago. He plans to continue on to graduate school and become a therapist.

The Crenshaw-area resident, whose background includes two stints in prison, said he waited until age 43 to get help. “I don’t want other people to have to do that.”

Young, 31, of Inglewood, said she set her sights on becoming a licensed clinical social worker after she kicked alcohol. Despite her personal ordeal, she said, “I didn’t think my own experience was enough.”

As for Alexander, he plans to keep his television set in storage for a few more years. He has received a full scholarship to attend Claremont McKenna College. He wants to become a psychologist who specializes in substance abuse.

Alexander said he will use his valedictory speech to remind classmates that achievement is not measured by material things, as he once thought.

Success, he said, tapping his forehead, “is an inside job.”