Student Leaves Gangs Behind, Finds a Future

Pierce College is only a short bus ride away from James Monroe High School, but when Eric Hernandez begins classes at the Woodland Hills community college on Monday, he will have traveled a far greater distance.

Hernandez, 18, shakes his head in disbelief when he talks about the tattooed 12-year-old who dodged bullets and faced drug charges as a sixth-grader at Sepulveda Middle School.

“I look back on my gang years and wonder, if I hadn’t stopped, where would I be? In jail or six feet under,” Hernandez said. “I have a lot of friends who are in jail. I’m glad to be where I am now.”

The science student, who plans to pursue a career in medicine, divides his time between Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, where he serves as a volunteer, and a local restaurant, where he buses tables.

It wasn’t too long ago, however, that his goals centered on salvaging his own life, not on helping to improve others.

Born in Mexico and raised in North Hills, Hernandez, the eldest of four children, joined a northeast Valley gang when he was just out of grammar school, seeking “cool friends.”

First arrested for possession of a knife while a student at Plummer Elementary School, his second arrest for selling drugs landed him in court by the age of 12.

“It all seemed cool to me,” Hernandez said. “I got gang tattoos on my left shoulder when I was 12, but I had to cover it with a big tattoo so that when I walked the streets without a shirt, I wouldn’t get shot at.”

Hernandez’s association with his gang ended rather abruptly five years ago, after he met Maria Trinidad at rehearsals for her quinceanera party--an elaborate 15th-birthday celebration popular in the Latino community.

The pair began dating and Hernandez, responding to Trinidad’s pressure to “clean up my act,” decided to leave his gang and concentrate on school and his family.

In order to leave his gang, Hernandez had to submit to a 90-second beating, which left him with two black eyes and bruises.

“It was worth it to me to get out,” Hernandez said. “I wanted a different life.”

Hernandez, shy and soft-spoken, determined to sever all ties with his former life, so last December he joined the San Fernando Valley Violence Prevention Coalition’s Tattoo Removal Program, which requires teens to perform 16 hours community service for each free tattoo removal treatment.

Hernandez, who has undergone four of his six treatments, chose Olive View-UCLA Medical Center in Sylmar, where he completed more than 40 hours volunteer service his first week on the job, answering phones and stocking sterile supplies.

“Eric jumped in with two feet and has really produced for us,” said Bryan Krogan, Olive View’s acting volunteer coordinator. “It’s wonderful that he’s continued with us.”

Hernandez has now completed about 500 hours’ service at the hospital, well beyond his 60-hour requirement. He was recently honored with a Los Angeles County Volunteer Recognition Award for his work there.

He says he will work hard in the next two years to earn an A average so that he can transfer to a top-notch four-year college, followed by medical school.

“I like the direction I’m going in,” Hernandez said. “My parents and friends are proud of me and I’m happy.”

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Personal Best is a weekly profile of an ordinary person who does extraordinary things. Please send suggestions on prospective candidates to Personal Best, Los Angeles Times, 20000 Prairie St., Chatsworth 91311. Or fax them to (818) 772-3338. Or e-mail them to valley@latimes.com.