July 30, 2025 • 29 mins
In this inspiring episode, host Andrew Caravella sits down with Izaiah Rubio, a Victor Valley College student whose story is anything but ordinary. From growing up in Rialto with a single mother and helping raise his siblings, to overcoming a rough start surrounded by negative influences, Izaiah opens up about the path that led him to earn five degrees and a full-ride scholarship to UC Irvine. Now pursuing a future in criminology, Izaiah shares how he's breaking generational cycles, dealing with imposter syndrome, and finding the courage to distance himself from unsupportive environments—all while staying true to who he is.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:10):
And welcome to Ramplify, the podcast brought to you by
Victor Valley College's associated student body. I'm your host, Andrew Caravella.
I don't know why I never thought about doing this before.
I brought coffee. I brought coffee to the studio today.
I am very excited about this. I am I'm going
to pour it right now before we start the interview
because I did not get to do that this morning. Wait,
(00:32):
I have to shake up the creamer. I do it
with creamer. Tayist is in the studio today with us.
What up? How are you excellent? You are? You're cheery
and you're smiling. You must have got off on the
right side of the bed this morning when you got up.
I came yesterday. Who graduated? Oh youngest one? How old
(00:54):
is she? Good for her? You can kick her out
of the house now that she's eighteen? Oh man. So
for everybody that doesn't know this, I have an addiction
to caffeine and coffee. It's it's the best vitamin in
the morning to start your day. And I am a
(01:16):
supporter of the Rams Cafe. That's where I got it.
As mr. Is that what it's called. Yeah, Sierra's here today?
Is that what as mr do you do? You do
that stuff? I don't do that. You don't do that.
It is kind of gros but I guess yeah. Isn't
(01:36):
that the thing where they do the uh you know,
they they tap the microphones and stuff like that. I
have no idea. Yeah, So anyways, I guess I guess
we should. We should. We really should, since he's here
watching me be inappropriate right now. So anyways, this is
Isaac Hey or Isaiah Isaiah, so whatever, some students. Three
(02:01):
more of these and then I'll know his name. So, hey, Isaiah,
how are you man?
Speaker 2 (02:04):
I'm doing good.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
How are you pretty good? Hey? I just I literally
just met you like seven days ago.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Yeah, that's crazy.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
So I walked into a meeting for five Theta Kappa
and they were like, we've been trying to get a
hold of you for the longest time. And I said, well,
I'm here, and they insisted I get to know you,
and I sat. I sat down with you, and I
got to know you for about ten minutes, and I
was very intrigued by your story. You have a very
(02:31):
interesting story. You may not think so, but I heard you.
I heard you talk to me about your upbringing and
your life and and as you continued on it, it
really kind of touched me how you well, first off,
you grew up in the Inland Empire and then you
ended up making your way up the hills as as
high Desert folks say to uh, to the Victor Valley
(02:56):
community where you pursued your higher education here at the
coll and you you're about to graduate. We'll get we'll
get to the details of that a little later, but
tell me a little bit about yourself. You know, uh,
what do you do for fun up here in the
in the high Desert because you know, uh, pickens are slim,
as they say. Yeah, I noticed that you're wearing a
(03:16):
Tomahawk ax throwing t shirt and we've, uh, we've partnered
with them here at the ASP for some of the
events that we've thrown on in the past. So you
do ax throwing?
Speaker 3 (03:25):
Yeah, I mean it's kind of like one of my
favorite things to do out here because there's not much.
But I mean I found this and I kind of
do like it. It's fun, right, So yeah, I kind of
tend to go there whenever I want.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Yeah, yeah, what else.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
That depends.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
I mean, I kind of just like going to like
the mall or whatever. There's not much to do.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
Here's not much see any good movies lately. No, nothing.
I just saw the new Mission Impossible you Tom Cruise fan. No, No,
I don't know. He does his own stunts. That's pretty
pretty amazing.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
I mean that's impressive.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
It is impressive. No, not a thing. Yeah, I don't know.
Video games is that a thing?
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (04:01):
For me? Grand Theft Auto.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
I mean not recently, but like recently, I'll play it
here and there.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
Yeah, I don't know. For some reason, and people think
I'm a bully. I don't know. You tell me if
I'm a bully when I play online, because that's really
where the fun comes. I listen. You guys are smiling
because you guys have heard this in the office. But
I listen for the younger kids that play Grand Theft Auto,
like the twelve thirteen year olds. Yeah, and you know,
(04:28):
because they got the high pitched voices and they're like
they're yelling like ha ha, you know, I shot you
or whatever. And I try and I try and find
out where they are in the game, and like I try,
I try and like hit them or shoot them, and
then I wait for them to respawn, and then I
go after them again and again and again because I
like to agitate them, like picking on like a little
(04:48):
brother or something like that. Does that make me a bully?
Speaker 2 (04:51):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (04:52):
I mean I feel like everyone that plays games kind
of went through that where they kind of had like
they're that good at games, and it kind of started younger.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
So I think you're just kinda I'm.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
Not that good at games. That's that's what he's That's
literally what.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
He just said, something like that.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
Wow. Wow. So we're gonna we're gonna dive into it
in a little bit here, uh with with Isaiah, So
just stick around. He's got a really really great story
that we're gonna we're gonna get into it with. Uh,
you're listening to or watching I don't know where you
guys are are watching this or listening to this. It
could be iHeartRadio, it could be Spotify, it could be Apple,
(05:31):
it could be YouTube, it could be Vimeo, it could
be the VVC mobile app. I don't know, but you
are tuning in somewhere somehow right now, and we're gonna
get to it here in just a minute. It is
ramplified right here on the podcast we'll be right back.
(05:52):
We are back here on ramplifying the podcast. I like
Sammon the podcast. I don't know, see I did the
ASMR thing, so now that's gonna be like my theme
for the rest of the episode. I don't know, I
(06:13):
don't know. I don't know. It's a thing now. So, uh,
how do you How do you say your full.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Name Isaiah Rubio?
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Okay? You just say it like that, like yeah, there's
no like accent or like no no Rubio.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Yeah, it's just basic.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
It's just basic. Okay. I don't know. I've just I've
had students on the show and it's like I try
and say their names and sometimes I just can't pronounce
it right. But yours is just Isaiya Rubio. Okay, Well, got
that out of the way. Moving on, What was it
like for you growing up because you grew up in
the Inland Empire? Yeah, okay, Well.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
I mean I grew up in Rialto, so I practically
live there.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
You say rialto, some people say rial too, so it's rialtoo. Okay,
that's like Atlanto. Some people say at Alanto Atlanta. Like
I'm just trying to understand dialects. So it's Rialto. Rialto
I've been saying. Yeah, now you're saying rialto. I mean,
so have I been saying it wrong my whole life?
Speaker 2 (07:15):
That depends Okay, it depends on who you talk to.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
Well, you live there, so you would know. I mean
I call it rialto, so I must be saying it wrong. Probably, Okay,
Well anyways, go on.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
So I grew up there, and I mean I basically
lived there in my whole life. I think I moved
out here like two maybe three years ago. So yeah,
I mean it was pretty basic. I don't know how
to explain it. I mean, I have three other siblings,
so like older, younger, No, I'm they're all younger, so
I'm the oldest out of my family. And I mean
(07:52):
I kind of had a single mom growing up, so
that's kind of what made me more I guess I
want to do stuff. I've always been a little bit
more different, I don't know, kind of more into school
and stuff.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
You had to be like the responsible one because you're older.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
Yeah, so I don't know that was kind of priority
for me because I was like, okay, like I need
to do my stuff. Then since she's taking care of
us and stuff. So yeah, and then I mean I
did martial arts for about like thirteen years.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
Like karated.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
Oh yeah, so I did that for about thirteen years,
and I only stopped it because I moved out here.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
But yeah, is that the one where you like you
have to like break boards and stuff.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
Well yeah, but it's I mean I think for most
you could break the boards, so yeah, but that one's
more like kind of kicking and stuff. It's kind of
more like your feet and your legs kind of self defense.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
Okay, So so being the responsible one, like you always
had to like kind of like watch out for them.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Well yeah, I mean that's kind of what it was
like even in high school, like I did have to
kind of drop out of regular.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
High school or you had to drop out, well not
to drop out.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
I guess I kind of took a different direction, like
I did independent study, but that was just because I
was watching my newborn baby breather. So that's kind of
why I had different responsibilities.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
I guess what's the age gap between you and like
the youngest I know, math.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
It's hard, right, fourteen fifteen years?
Speaker 1 (09:19):
Oh wow? Yeah, so you definitely were like like that
he had to taken care of, Like, yeah, you were
like the caretaker basically.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
Yeah, so I basically raised him.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
So yeah, it's crazy.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
So and then you said you moved up here about
two three years ago. Yeah, okay, the whole family moved
up here. Yeah okay, So like so, so while so
were you doing like homeschool then? Basically not?
Speaker 3 (09:44):
Well, I mean it was kind of independent studies, so
independent yep, that's why. Yeah, So that's what I was doing.
It was a mix of like maybe like once a
week I'd go to regular class, but most of it
was just like packets that I would do homework for
and then test on it. And that's how I got
my credits for high school.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
So while you were at home, like like, what did
your mom do for work while you were at home
taking care of your your little siblings.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
She was a receptionist for a pellet company, so like
the wooden pellets for companies. She was like a broker too,
so that she kind of just managed like any cells
and stuff like that.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
Okay, very blue collar, yeah oh yeah yeah, yeah, very
very cool. So what would you because okay, their kids
I had, I had younger brothers and nieces and nephews,
so I mean, obviously they're not the most well behaved, right,
So what would you do to like pass the time
and like you know, keep them like active and like
you know, out of trouble and stuff like that, Like
(10:40):
what would you do be big brother and stuff.
Speaker 3 (10:42):
I mean obviously I would like got to play with
them and stuff like take them outside, I guess get Yeah,
just stuff to get them, I guess out the house
without like leaving the house because you know, obviously I
couldn't drive back then, so it was kind of tough.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
But yeah, that's just kind of what I did.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
You ever have like a favorite game that you would
you would do with them or or or something that
would pass the time.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
M No, I feel like it kind of change every day.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
So yeah, you gotta be creative with the little ones.
I guess I would imagine. Yeah, very cool. All right,
well we're gonna get to the second part of our
interview here, uh in just a minute, so uh you
can lock don't go away. We will be right back.
(11:32):
I am halfway through my cup of coffee. As some arm,
we should do an entire episode. Entire episode. You got
to get some cerealis I don't like pickles. Pickles bother me.
I can eat cucumbers and zo zucchini. I just can't
do pickles. Chips. Oh, I love chips. My gosh. That's
(11:57):
you're so smart. We should do it all right, I
am here with a very smart individual. Wait, got the clip,
got the click going on right now? Yes? Uh, Isaiah
Rubio is here. How you doing? Man?
Speaker 2 (12:17):
Good?
Speaker 1 (12:17):
Good? Good good? So I wanted I wanted to, uh
to do this interview with you, uh, because there are
there are some aspects of your life that have brought
you to the High Desert, uh that I find very fascinating. You.
You you did, you did a lot of independent study
(12:41):
which kind of prepped you for for college after you
you graduated from from high school. And I find it
very interesting that you spent your time here at the
college two years, right, two years?
Speaker 2 (12:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
And there's no other way to say this, but basically
you you you completed and you're you're about to graduate
with not one, not two, not three, not four, but
five degrees. Yeah. Yeah, but you say it like oh yeah,
like whatever, like yeah, administrative justice, criminal justice, psychology, sociology,
(13:21):
and liberal arts with an emphasis and social behaviors. Yeah,
that's a lot, man, that's a lot. And you're going
on a full ride scholarship to to U see Irvine. Yeah,
no loans at all. How does that happen? That's a
that's a lot, man. Yeah, you know, I started I
(13:46):
started this interview very very light, very surfaced, but you know,
I wanted to I wanted to kind of just sit
here and look at it. Administrative justice, criminal justice, psych sociology,
liberal arts. You see Irvine. It would it would imply
(14:07):
that you're you're going for something that would be more
along the lines of something maybe in law enforcement. Yeah, yeah,
why why law enforcement? What is it about law enforcement
that you like so much?
Speaker 3 (14:21):
I mean, I think I never really understood it at first,
and now as I get older, I kind of understand
the importance of it, especially like growing up to I mean,
I never was really in the best area, So I
think that's kind of what influenced me to want to
understand it more.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
Like my passion is criminology. That's what I'm going to
transfer for, so I think just being able to understand
the different circumstances that makes people kind of forced into
crime or having to commit it.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
I guess that's kind of what for me.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
Do you did you ever have run ins or did
you have like in influences or experiences in life where
like you feel like that you wanted to go down
a different path, And that's maybe why you, I mean,
five degrees all kind of a lineup in that in
that realm that you decided to go completely the opposite direction.
Speaker 3 (15:17):
I think in middle school, yeah, was kind of when
I kind of started going down a little bit of
a bad path. Okay, So I would always be in
a lot of fights and stuff. Yeah, So I don't know,
it was kind of like a lot of problems, especially
like the area.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
It was kind of like a lot of gangish kind
of stuff.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
Like like, well, yeah in that area, gang territory or
gang influences of some kind.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (15:42):
So a lot of people I knew kind of like
had family members and stuff that were like into it,
so they were kind of getting into it.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (15:50):
That kind of put me in problems for kind of
being around them too. Yeah, so that's why I would
be in a lot of fights in like eighth grade especially.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
Yeah, I hated eighth grade. In my world, I went
from fifth grade to ninth grade. I middle school. But
that that's a whole other episode. So but going back
to you again, two three years you've been here, right,
you said you your whole life Realito area, So I
(16:18):
am I'm assuming that you still have ties and connections
to that community down there and stuff. Are there are
the people that you're you're still connected to that that
know that this is the direction that you're going in
your life?
Speaker 2 (16:33):
It depends.
Speaker 3 (16:34):
I think I kind of hid what I was going
to go into or what I'm studying from a lot
of people, especially friends. How Come I just think they
wouldn't really be fond of it, Like it's kind of
always been Okay, we don't really like cops. Okay, that's
always how it's been out there, and I think cops
in general don't really get as much respect.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
So how does it make you feel, though, Like if
we can just do fee for a second, how does
it make you feel that something you want to be
successful in, something that you want to go towards, you
have to keep from those that you call friends.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
That depends.
Speaker 3 (17:15):
I mean it kind of makes me think a lot
of like, Okay, who should I keep as a friend
because I want people that are going to support me.
But I mean that's kind of why I have to
get a step to kind of just remove people out
of my life. You know, people I just think, okay,
like I just can't let them know that I'm going
to be doing this because obviously it would put me
(17:35):
into problems.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
Do you think, held are you twenty? Do you think
are you able to identify what based on what you're
saying right now that you're at what would be considered
a transitional part of your life right now? It depends
on what you mean, like you're able to to identify,
(17:59):
like you're going to have to pick and choose moving forward, Like, hey,
I'm doing this, I'm getting five degrees, I'm I'm going
to use the irvine on a full right scholarship. I'm
going to have to pick and choose moving forward who
I'm going to keep in my life moving forward, you know,
forward to support me, you know, who's going to be
there for me, and then who I'm who I'm cutting out.
Speaker 3 (18:20):
Yeah, I mean that's the thing, Like I kind of
have been going through that for a little bit now,
so like I don't really talk to as much people
that I did know, So that's kind of why I
have been removing people, even if it's something as simple
as like Okay, we're moving them off social media or
like just not talking to them. That's just kind of
where I've been at. But yeah, I just I don't know,
(18:41):
I think I kind of have to keep a smaller
circling away, and I think coming here is kind of
where I found like my supportive people.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
So I think being like, you know, secretary for PGK,
I think that's helped a lot because I find a
lot of supportive people, especially the advisors that always help me.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
What about Like, I know we've we talked about friends,
but I mean family is a huge part of that too.
Uh And you know, you don't you don't have to,
you know, put names out there, but are there people
in your family too that may not be completely you know,
on board with with what you're going through because in
your situation, you know, there's there's there's people that are
(19:20):
probably watching this right now who may have people in
their family who sadly aren't on board with what they're
you know, their person is is doing as far as
trying to be successful.
Speaker 3 (19:33):
Yeah, well yeah, definitely, I Mean I wouldn't name it personally,
but there definitely is, Like I know, even now I
go to like family reunions and stuff, and I guess
I'm kind of like the talking.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
Point, like you're a talking point really, like they just.
Speaker 3 (19:49):
Want to know what I'm doing, and it's never really
as supportive I guess sometimes it's not. Sometimes it's kind
of just like okay, like I don't know why he
wants to do that. It's not like they're gonna do
anything for him, like talking about cops.
Speaker 1 (20:02):
Do you feel like you have to go out of
obligation to like family things or do you do you
go like because maybe some family members like maybe it
makes a difference to them to see you doing something positive.
Speaker 3 (20:18):
That's I mean, for a while, I thought it would
be maybe like Okay, if they see me doing it,
maybe they might want to do something too. But I
think it kind of went sideways, like, well, I have
a cousin who I've been close with and we kind
of don't talk anymore. And it's because he felt like,
I don't know, he always felt like it was a
(20:40):
competition in a way, like he kind of seen it
as Okay, I can't really talk to you no more
because you want to go down this path and that's
not me. So that's kind of where the issue is
I think the respect isn't there for what I want
to do. But it's like okay, like I still love
you as family, you know.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
Yeah, yeah, that's tough with with cousins, right because as
we as we get older, we start to learn that
our our first best friends growing up are our cousins.
You know, as I get older, I find out that
my cousins are probably supposed to be like the closest
people that i've you know, I've ever known and stuff.
So that makes it very tough, you know when when
(21:19):
that happens. So I get it. I totally get it. Uh,
we're gonna take a quick time out and then we're
gonna wrap with uh with with Isaiah here, so don't
go away and we'll be right back. So you know,
I I'm I'm thankful that you're you know, you're sitting here,
(21:40):
you're talking to us about, you know, serious topics like this,
because you know, it's it's really cool that you know,
you you came from such a hot mess upbringing and
you've decided to do the complete opposite. You know, It's
it's very positive and it's very it's very inspiring that
(22:01):
you're you want to do you want to be. You
want to be the difference. You know, even even despite
the fact that you even have that in your own
family and stuff, that you're willing to do that. And
who knows, maybe maybe the the cycle doesn't change, but
you're breaking that a part of the cycle by you know,
(22:24):
wanting to go to college full ride. You know, you
spend two years here at Victor Valley College and five degrees.
How many classes did you take this last semester?
Speaker 2 (22:35):
Last semester, I take a eight? I'm right now. M hm.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
Why my gosh, is that even legal? Can we do that?
Is that allowed? It's allowed? It's allowed? Wow? What's what's
the support been like for you here at the college?
I mean, most people obviously don't know your story and
don't know your situation, so just being a I guess
a tip student, right, whatever that means, whatever that label means.
(23:04):
What is what has that been like? Like as far
as the support for your studies going to and from class? Like,
how have we been here as staff? How how has
a customer service been here? You tell us?
Speaker 2 (23:19):
I mean for the most part, it's been pretty good.
Speaker 1 (23:21):
You know.
Speaker 3 (23:21):
Obviously you just kind of have to find your crowd
I guess, like I know, I've had some professors that
I think I kind of showed them like okay, like
I do care about my work and stuff, and they
kind of have been supportive. So I think just the
staff in general is supportive because I think often you
might not think that I'm that into education or whatever,
(23:43):
because I don't.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
Know, why do you say that? Is it the tattoos?
Speaker 2 (23:46):
That's what I think it is.
Speaker 1 (23:47):
He's got show the camera, he's got he's got this here,
look at this, he's got like this. Oh, I like
the birds. The birds are good. Oh there it is
a snake. He's got the snake and stuff. There it
is what's stereotype and right now there it is right there.
When I first met him, when I first met him
seven days ago, he said the same exact thing. He
(24:09):
was like, Yeah, people look at me and they think like,
maybe I don't care about education. I'm like, is it
the snakes? It's the snakes, isn't it. Man? Now, he's
a good he's a good guy, he really is. I
like him. He's nice. So no, I thought it was
the nose rings for sure that gave it away. I
was like, this guy's trouble. Look out, it's the nose rings.
You gotta look out for the rings. No, but but
(24:33):
go on, go on with what you were saying.
Speaker 3 (24:35):
So yeah, I mean it just depends. Like I think,
if you just show that you cared, then the support
is there because it's kind of like, I mean, it's college,
Like the expectation of you to do your own stuff
is there. It's not like anyone's gonna baby you. But
if you at least show like, okay, you do care
about your stuff, that's where the support comes in.
Speaker 1 (24:54):
What are you What are you looking forward to the
most once you once you graduate and move on to
U s Irvine, Like as far as the next adventure goes,
because I'm assuming you're gonna be living on campus, right, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (25:06):
I mean I would just say like just being there
in general, because like I'm gonna be somewhere else, a
whole new environment, having to figure stuff out, which yeah,
it's scary, but it's also a lot of opportunity. And
I think also, like my program is a really good program.
So I think just being able to be under like
high professors in my field would be really cool because
(25:29):
I know at the community college level it's kind of
just cops that are training mostly for my field, and
over there it's like people who have PhDs and stuff.
So it's gonna be good seeing it for more of
like a research perspective instead of just cop work, so
that I could kind of see both sides, you know.
Speaker 1 (25:47):
So, I mean, so you're gonna be in law enforcement yet,
but you're trying to get that more higher education to
accommodate were in the badge yeah and the gun.
Speaker 2 (25:59):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
So I always believed that I could play a cop
on TV when I was an actor. I used to
be an actor many years ago, but I always wanted
and I played a detective in a short film. But
which is a really really cool photo. I have a
photo from when I did that. I'll have to show
you guys one day. I always wanted to play a cop,
like like the punk kid cop, like like late twenties,
(26:23):
early thirties, right, But I never wanted to be a
police officer. Just wanted to kick down the door and
like say some cool like lines and stuff twenty one
Jones Street. Definitely I could be Channing Tatum, but I
could never do it in real life because as a
journalist working with law enforcement and seeing what they do
(26:45):
on a day to day basis. That is not for me.
I could I could never do it. I can play
it on TV, I could never do it in real life.
That's it's hard work. Yeah, it's really hard work. So
I commend you for wanting to go down that route,
that route and give back to those communities that you
grew up in. Last thing I want I want to
(27:06):
leave with is uh for those that have grown up
in similar situations as yourself, who maybe have been in
those environments with friends or family. What is some advice
you could give them as far as breaking those cycles
and going for something that's completely opposite of their environment.
(27:28):
What could you tell them?
Speaker 3 (27:31):
I mean, I would say maybe just try to focus
on yourself kind of just thinking okay, like you are
worth that you can do this, because I don't like
even myself, I have a lot of impostery syndrome. I'm like, okay,
like I'm not worth this. This isn't me, even though
you know obviously I'm doing like my five degrees in
all the classes, Like yeah, I do my stuff, but
(27:52):
I'm still like okay, like it's kind of hard to
seeing someone like me do some stuff like that.
Speaker 2 (27:57):
You know, So I guess it's just a little bit
of uncertainty.
Speaker 3 (28:00):
Yeah, but I think if you just kind of have
it in the back of your mind, like, Okay, this
is what you need to do, then I think that's
really good because you know, yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:11):
No, that's really cool. I'm happy that you mentioned imposter syndrome.
I think a lot of people don't spend enough time
with that kind of terminology, and I don't think enough
people identify that they that they suffer from that. I
too have suffered from that, and I've with my time
in LA and stuff, and I've been called out on
that from some executives that I used to work for.
(28:32):
So that's really cool. Man. You're twenty years old and
you know what that is. Yeah, well you have five degrees,
so apparently you do know what that is. Administrative justice,
criminal justice, psychology, sociology, liberal arts with an emphasis on
social behavior. And you're going to UC Irvine. I assume
(28:53):
you're going to come back and speak to the to
the students someday about your journey.
Speaker 2 (28:58):
I mean, I would love to if someone.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
Asks, okay, if someone asks, okay, no, did you just say,
will you charge us? Oh? Is he going to charge?
Speaker 2 (29:10):
Yeah, no, I'll do it.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
He'll do it for free. He just said it here.
We have it on tape. That is the receipt We
have the receipts on that so well. I want to
wish you the best of luck on your journey. Congratulations
and thanks for hanging out and having a conversation.
Speaker 2 (29:27):
With us today.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
Thanks for tuning in to this special edition of Ramplify.
We'll see you on the next one later
And welcome to Ramplify, the podcast brought to you by
Victor Valley College's associated student body. I'm your host, Andrew Caravella.
I don't know why I never thought about doing this before.
I brought coffee. I brought coffee to the studio today.
I am very excited about this. I am I'm going
to pour it right now before we start the interview
because I did not get to do that this morning. Wait,
(00:32):
I have to shake up the creamer. I do it
with creamer. Tayist is in the studio today with us.
What up? How are you excellent? You are? You're cheery
and you're smiling. You must have got off on the
right side of the bed this morning when you got up.
I came yesterday. Who graduated? Oh youngest one? How old
(00:54):
is she? Good for her? You can kick her out
of the house now that she's eighteen? Oh man. So
for everybody that doesn't know this, I have an addiction
to caffeine and coffee. It's it's the best vitamin in
the morning to start your day. And I am a
(01:16):
supporter of the Rams Cafe. That's where I got it.
As mr. Is that what it's called. Yeah, Sierra's here today?
Is that what as mr do you do? You do
that stuff? I don't do that. You don't do that.
It is kind of gros but I guess yeah. Isn't
(01:36):
that the thing where they do the uh you know,
they they tap the microphones and stuff like that. I
have no idea. Yeah, So anyways, I guess I guess
we should. We should. We really should, since he's here
watching me be inappropriate right now. So anyways, this is
Isaac Hey or Isaiah Isaiah, so whatever, some students. Three
(02:01):
more of these and then I'll know his name. So, hey, Isaiah,
how are you man?
Speaker 2 (02:04):
I'm doing good.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
How are you pretty good? Hey? I just I literally
just met you like seven days ago.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Yeah, that's crazy.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
So I walked into a meeting for five Theta Kappa
and they were like, we've been trying to get a
hold of you for the longest time. And I said, well,
I'm here, and they insisted I get to know you,
and I sat. I sat down with you, and I
got to know you for about ten minutes, and I
was very intrigued by your story. You have a very
(02:31):
interesting story. You may not think so, but I heard you.
I heard you talk to me about your upbringing and
your life and and as you continued on it, it
really kind of touched me how you well, first off,
you grew up in the Inland Empire and then you
ended up making your way up the hills as as
high Desert folks say to uh, to the Victor Valley
(02:56):
community where you pursued your higher education here at the
coll and you you're about to graduate. We'll get we'll
get to the details of that a little later, but
tell me a little bit about yourself. You know, uh,
what do you do for fun up here in the
in the high Desert because you know, uh, pickens are slim,
as they say. Yeah, I noticed that you're wearing a
(03:16):
Tomahawk ax throwing t shirt and we've, uh, we've partnered
with them here at the ASP for some of the
events that we've thrown on in the past. So you
do ax throwing?
Speaker 3 (03:25):
Yeah, I mean it's kind of like one of my
favorite things to do out here because there's not much.
But I mean I found this and I kind of
do like it. It's fun, right, So yeah, I kind of
tend to go there whenever I want.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Yeah, yeah, what else.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
That depends.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
I mean, I kind of just like going to like
the mall or whatever. There's not much to do.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
Here's not much see any good movies lately. No, nothing.
I just saw the new Mission Impossible you Tom Cruise fan. No, No,
I don't know. He does his own stunts. That's pretty
pretty amazing.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
I mean that's impressive.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
It is impressive. No, not a thing. Yeah, I don't know.
Video games is that a thing?
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (04:01):
For me? Grand Theft Auto.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
I mean not recently, but like recently, I'll play it
here and there.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
Yeah, I don't know. For some reason, and people think
I'm a bully. I don't know. You tell me if
I'm a bully when I play online, because that's really
where the fun comes. I listen. You guys are smiling
because you guys have heard this in the office. But
I listen for the younger kids that play Grand Theft Auto,
like the twelve thirteen year olds. Yeah, and you know,
(04:28):
because they got the high pitched voices and they're like
they're yelling like ha ha, you know, I shot you
or whatever. And I try and I try and find
out where they are in the game, and like I try,
I try and like hit them or shoot them, and
then I wait for them to respawn, and then I
go after them again and again and again because I
like to agitate them, like picking on like a little
(04:48):
brother or something like that. Does that make me a bully?
Speaker 2 (04:51):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (04:52):
I mean I feel like everyone that plays games kind
of went through that where they kind of had like
they're that good at games, and it kind of started younger.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
So I think you're just kinda I'm.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
Not that good at games. That's that's what he's That's
literally what.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
He just said, something like that.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
Wow. Wow. So we're gonna we're gonna dive into it
in a little bit here, uh with with Isaiah, So
just stick around. He's got a really really great story
that we're gonna we're gonna get into it with. Uh,
you're listening to or watching I don't know where you
guys are are watching this or listening to this. It
could be iHeartRadio, it could be Spotify, it could be Apple,
(05:31):
it could be YouTube, it could be Vimeo, it could
be the VVC mobile app. I don't know, but you
are tuning in somewhere somehow right now, and we're gonna
get to it here in just a minute. It is
ramplified right here on the podcast we'll be right back.
(05:52):
We are back here on ramplifying the podcast. I like
Sammon the podcast. I don't know, see I did the
ASMR thing, so now that's gonna be like my theme
for the rest of the episode. I don't know, I
(06:13):
don't know. I don't know. It's a thing now. So, uh,
how do you How do you say your full.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Name Isaiah Rubio?
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Okay? You just say it like that, like yeah, there's
no like accent or like no no Rubio.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Yeah, it's just basic.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
It's just basic. Okay. I don't know. I've just I've
had students on the show and it's like I try
and say their names and sometimes I just can't pronounce
it right. But yours is just Isaiya Rubio. Okay, Well, got
that out of the way. Moving on, What was it
like for you growing up because you grew up in
the Inland Empire? Yeah, okay, Well.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
I mean I grew up in Rialto, so I practically
live there.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
You say rialto, some people say rial too, so it's rialtoo. Okay,
that's like Atlanto. Some people say at Alanto Atlanta. Like
I'm just trying to understand dialects. So it's Rialto. Rialto
I've been saying. Yeah, now you're saying rialto. I mean,
so have I been saying it wrong my whole life?
Speaker 2 (07:15):
That depends Okay, it depends on who you talk to.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
Well, you live there, so you would know. I mean
I call it rialto, so I must be saying it wrong. Probably, Okay,
Well anyways, go on.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
So I grew up there, and I mean I basically
lived there in my whole life. I think I moved
out here like two maybe three years ago. So yeah,
I mean it was pretty basic. I don't know how
to explain it. I mean, I have three other siblings,
so like older, younger, No, I'm they're all younger, so
I'm the oldest out of my family. And I mean
(07:52):
I kind of had a single mom growing up, so
that's kind of what made me more I guess I
want to do stuff. I've always been a little bit
more different, I don't know, kind of more into school
and stuff.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
You had to be like the responsible one because you're older.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
Yeah, so I don't know that was kind of priority
for me because I was like, okay, like I need
to do my stuff. Then since she's taking care of
us and stuff. So yeah, and then I mean I
did martial arts for about like thirteen years.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
Like karated.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
Oh yeah, so I did that for about thirteen years,
and I only stopped it because I moved out here.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
But yeah, is that the one where you like you
have to like break boards and stuff.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
Well yeah, but it's I mean I think for most
you could break the boards, so yeah, but that one's
more like kind of kicking and stuff. It's kind of
more like your feet and your legs kind of self defense.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
Okay, So so being the responsible one, like you always
had to like kind of like watch out for them.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Well yeah, I mean that's kind of what it was
like even in high school, like I did have to
kind of drop out of regular.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
High school or you had to drop out, well not
to drop out.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
I guess I kind of took a different direction, like
I did independent study, but that was just because I
was watching my newborn baby breather. So that's kind of
why I had different responsibilities.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
I guess what's the age gap between you and like
the youngest I know, math.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
It's hard, right, fourteen fifteen years?
Speaker 1 (09:19):
Oh wow? Yeah, so you definitely were like like that
he had to taken care of, Like, yeah, you were
like the caretaker basically.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
Yeah, so I basically raised him.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
So yeah, it's crazy.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
So and then you said you moved up here about
two three years ago. Yeah, okay, the whole family moved
up here. Yeah okay, So like so, so while so
were you doing like homeschool then? Basically not?
Speaker 3 (09:44):
Well, I mean it was kind of independent studies, so
independent yep, that's why. Yeah, So that's what I was doing.
It was a mix of like maybe like once a
week I'd go to regular class, but most of it
was just like packets that I would do homework for
and then test on it. And that's how I got
my credits for high school.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
So while you were at home, like like, what did
your mom do for work while you were at home
taking care of your your little siblings.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
She was a receptionist for a pellet company, so like
the wooden pellets for companies. She was like a broker too,
so that she kind of just managed like any cells
and stuff like that.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
Okay, very blue collar, yeah oh yeah yeah, yeah, very
very cool. So what would you because okay, their kids
I had, I had younger brothers and nieces and nephews,
so I mean, obviously they're not the most well behaved, right,
So what would you do to like pass the time
and like you know, keep them like active and like
you know, out of trouble and stuff like that, Like
(10:40):
what would you do be big brother and stuff.
Speaker 3 (10:42):
I mean obviously I would like got to play with
them and stuff like take them outside, I guess get Yeah,
just stuff to get them, I guess out the house
without like leaving the house because you know, obviously I
couldn't drive back then, so it was kind of tough.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
But yeah, that's just kind of what I did.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
You ever have like a favorite game that you would
you would do with them or or or something that
would pass the time.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
M No, I feel like it kind of change every day.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
So yeah, you gotta be creative with the little ones.
I guess I would imagine. Yeah, very cool. All right,
well we're gonna get to the second part of our
interview here, uh in just a minute, so uh you
can lock don't go away. We will be right back.
(11:32):
I am halfway through my cup of coffee. As some arm,
we should do an entire episode. Entire episode. You got
to get some cerealis I don't like pickles. Pickles bother me.
I can eat cucumbers and zo zucchini. I just can't
do pickles. Chips. Oh, I love chips. My gosh. That's
(11:57):
you're so smart. We should do it all right, I
am here with a very smart individual. Wait, got the clip,
got the click going on right now? Yes? Uh, Isaiah
Rubio is here. How you doing? Man?
Speaker 2 (12:17):
Good?
Speaker 1 (12:17):
Good? Good good? So I wanted I wanted to, uh
to do this interview with you, uh, because there are
there are some aspects of your life that have brought
you to the High Desert, uh that I find very fascinating. You.
You you did, you did a lot of independent study
(12:41):
which kind of prepped you for for college after you
you graduated from from high school. And I find it
very interesting that you spent your time here at the
college two years, right, two years?
Speaker 2 (12:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
And there's no other way to say this, but basically
you you you completed and you're you're about to graduate
with not one, not two, not three, not four, but
five degrees. Yeah. Yeah, but you say it like oh yeah,
like whatever, like yeah, administrative justice, criminal justice, psychology, sociology,
(13:21):
and liberal arts with an emphasis and social behaviors. Yeah,
that's a lot, man, that's a lot. And you're going
on a full ride scholarship to to U see Irvine. Yeah,
no loans at all. How does that happen? That's a
that's a lot, man. Yeah, you know, I started I
(13:46):
started this interview very very light, very surfaced, but you know,
I wanted to I wanted to kind of just sit
here and look at it. Administrative justice, criminal justice, psych sociology,
liberal arts. You see Irvine. It would it would imply
(14:07):
that you're you're going for something that would be more
along the lines of something maybe in law enforcement. Yeah, yeah,
why why law enforcement? What is it about law enforcement
that you like so much?
Speaker 3 (14:21):
I mean, I think I never really understood it at first,
and now as I get older, I kind of understand
the importance of it, especially like growing up to I mean,
I never was really in the best area, So I
think that's kind of what influenced me to want to
understand it more.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
Like my passion is criminology. That's what I'm going to
transfer for, so I think just being able to understand
the different circumstances that makes people kind of forced into
crime or having to commit it.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
I guess that's kind of what for me.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
Do you did you ever have run ins or did
you have like in influences or experiences in life where
like you feel like that you wanted to go down
a different path, And that's maybe why you, I mean,
five degrees all kind of a lineup in that in
that realm that you decided to go completely the opposite direction.
Speaker 3 (15:17):
I think in middle school, yeah, was kind of when
I kind of started going down a little bit of
a bad path. Okay, So I would always be in
a lot of fights and stuff. Yeah, So I don't know,
it was kind of like a lot of problems, especially
like the area.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
It was kind of like a lot of gangish kind
of stuff.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
Like like, well, yeah in that area, gang territory or
gang influences of some kind.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (15:42):
So a lot of people I knew kind of like
had family members and stuff that were like into it,
so they were kind of getting into it.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (15:50):
That kind of put me in problems for kind of
being around them too. Yeah, so that's why I would
be in a lot of fights in like eighth grade especially.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
Yeah, I hated eighth grade. In my world, I went
from fifth grade to ninth grade. I middle school. But
that that's a whole other episode. So but going back
to you again, two three years you've been here, right,
you said you your whole life Realito area, So I
(16:18):
am I'm assuming that you still have ties and connections
to that community down there and stuff. Are there are
the people that you're you're still connected to that that
know that this is the direction that you're going in
your life?
Speaker 2 (16:33):
It depends.
Speaker 3 (16:34):
I think I kind of hid what I was going
to go into or what I'm studying from a lot
of people, especially friends. How Come I just think they
wouldn't really be fond of it, Like it's kind of
always been Okay, we don't really like cops. Okay, that's
always how it's been out there, and I think cops
in general don't really get as much respect.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
So how does it make you feel, though, Like if
we can just do fee for a second, how does
it make you feel that something you want to be
successful in, something that you want to go towards, you
have to keep from those that you call friends.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
That depends.
Speaker 3 (17:15):
I mean it kind of makes me think a lot
of like, Okay, who should I keep as a friend
because I want people that are going to support me.
But I mean that's kind of why I have to
get a step to kind of just remove people out
of my life. You know, people I just think, okay,
like I just can't let them know that I'm going
to be doing this because obviously it would put me
(17:35):
into problems.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
Do you think, held are you twenty? Do you think
are you able to identify what based on what you're
saying right now that you're at what would be considered
a transitional part of your life right now? It depends
on what you mean, like you're able to to identify,
(17:59):
like you're going to have to pick and choose moving forward, Like, hey,
I'm doing this, I'm getting five degrees, I'm I'm going
to use the irvine on a full right scholarship. I'm
going to have to pick and choose moving forward who
I'm going to keep in my life moving forward, you know,
forward to support me, you know, who's going to be
there for me, and then who I'm who I'm cutting out.
Speaker 3 (18:20):
Yeah, I mean that's the thing, Like I kind of
have been going through that for a little bit now,
so like I don't really talk to as much people
that I did know, So that's kind of why I
have been removing people, even if it's something as simple
as like Okay, we're moving them off social media or
like just not talking to them. That's just kind of
where I've been at. But yeah, I just I don't know,
(18:41):
I think I kind of have to keep a smaller
circling away, and I think coming here is kind of
where I found like my supportive people.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
So I think being like, you know, secretary for PGK,
I think that's helped a lot because I find a
lot of supportive people, especially the advisors that always help me.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
What about Like, I know we've we talked about friends,
but I mean family is a huge part of that too.
Uh And you know, you don't you don't have to,
you know, put names out there, but are there people
in your family too that may not be completely you know,
on board with with what you're going through because in
your situation, you know, there's there's there's people that are
(19:20):
probably watching this right now who may have people in
their family who sadly aren't on board with what they're
you know, their person is is doing as far as
trying to be successful.
Speaker 3 (19:33):
Yeah, well yeah, definitely, I Mean I wouldn't name it personally,
but there definitely is, Like I know, even now I
go to like family reunions and stuff, and I guess
I'm kind of like the talking.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
Point, like you're a talking point really, like they just.
Speaker 3 (19:49):
Want to know what I'm doing, and it's never really
as supportive I guess sometimes it's not. Sometimes it's kind
of just like okay, like I don't know why he
wants to do that. It's not like they're gonna do
anything for him, like talking about cops.
Speaker 1 (20:02):
Do you feel like you have to go out of
obligation to like family things or do you do you
go like because maybe some family members like maybe it
makes a difference to them to see you doing something positive.
Speaker 3 (20:18):
That's I mean, for a while, I thought it would
be maybe like Okay, if they see me doing it,
maybe they might want to do something too. But I
think it kind of went sideways, like, well, I have
a cousin who I've been close with and we kind
of don't talk anymore. And it's because he felt like,
I don't know, he always felt like it was a
(20:40):
competition in a way, like he kind of seen it
as Okay, I can't really talk to you no more
because you want to go down this path and that's
not me. So that's kind of where the issue is
I think the respect isn't there for what I want
to do. But it's like okay, like I still love
you as family, you know.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
Yeah, yeah, that's tough with with cousins, right because as
we as we get older, we start to learn that
our our first best friends growing up are our cousins.
You know, as I get older, I find out that
my cousins are probably supposed to be like the closest
people that i've you know, I've ever known and stuff.
So that makes it very tough, you know when when
(21:19):
that happens. So I get it. I totally get it. Uh,
we're gonna take a quick time out and then we're
gonna wrap with uh with with Isaiah here, so don't
go away and we'll be right back. So you know,
I I'm I'm thankful that you're you know, you're sitting here,
(21:40):
you're talking to us about, you know, serious topics like this,
because you know, it's it's really cool that you know,
you you came from such a hot mess upbringing and
you've decided to do the complete opposite. You know, It's
it's very positive and it's very it's very inspiring that
(22:01):
you're you want to do you want to be. You
want to be the difference. You know, even even despite
the fact that you even have that in your own
family and stuff, that you're willing to do that. And
who knows, maybe maybe the the cycle doesn't change, but
you're breaking that a part of the cycle by you know,
(22:24):
wanting to go to college full ride. You know, you
spend two years here at Victor Valley College and five degrees.
How many classes did you take this last semester?
Speaker 2 (22:35):
Last semester, I take a eight? I'm right now. M hm.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
Why my gosh, is that even legal? Can we do that?
Is that allowed? It's allowed? It's allowed? Wow? What's what's
the support been like for you here at the college?
I mean, most people obviously don't know your story and
don't know your situation, so just being a I guess
a tip student, right, whatever that means, whatever that label means.
(23:04):
What is what has that been like? Like as far
as the support for your studies going to and from class? Like,
how have we been here as staff? How how has
a customer service been here? You tell us?
Speaker 2 (23:19):
I mean for the most part, it's been pretty good.
Speaker 1 (23:21):
You know.
Speaker 3 (23:21):
Obviously you just kind of have to find your crowd
I guess, like I know, I've had some professors that
I think I kind of showed them like okay, like
I do care about my work and stuff, and they
kind of have been supportive. So I think just the
staff in general is supportive because I think often you
might not think that I'm that into education or whatever,
(23:43):
because I don't.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
Know, why do you say that? Is it the tattoos?
Speaker 2 (23:46):
That's what I think it is.
Speaker 1 (23:47):
He's got show the camera, he's got he's got this here,
look at this, he's got like this. Oh, I like
the birds. The birds are good. Oh there it is
a snake. He's got the snake and stuff. There it
is what's stereotype and right now there it is right there.
When I first met him, when I first met him
seven days ago, he said the same exact thing. He
(24:09):
was like, Yeah, people look at me and they think like,
maybe I don't care about education. I'm like, is it
the snakes? It's the snakes, isn't it. Man? Now, he's
a good he's a good guy, he really is. I
like him. He's nice. So no, I thought it was
the nose rings for sure that gave it away. I
was like, this guy's trouble. Look out, it's the nose rings.
You gotta look out for the rings. No, but but
(24:33):
go on, go on with what you were saying.
Speaker 3 (24:35):
So yeah, I mean it just depends. Like I think,
if you just show that you cared, then the support
is there because it's kind of like, I mean, it's college,
Like the expectation of you to do your own stuff
is there. It's not like anyone's gonna baby you. But
if you at least show like, okay, you do care
about your stuff, that's where the support comes in.
Speaker 1 (24:54):
What are you What are you looking forward to the
most once you once you graduate and move on to
U s Irvine, Like as far as the next adventure goes,
because I'm assuming you're gonna be living on campus, right, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (25:06):
I mean I would just say like just being there
in general, because like I'm gonna be somewhere else, a
whole new environment, having to figure stuff out, which yeah,
it's scary, but it's also a lot of opportunity. And
I think also, like my program is a really good program.
So I think just being able to be under like
high professors in my field would be really cool because
(25:29):
I know at the community college level it's kind of
just cops that are training mostly for my field, and
over there it's like people who have PhDs and stuff.
So it's gonna be good seeing it for more of
like a research perspective instead of just cop work, so
that I could kind of see both sides, you know.
Speaker 1 (25:47):
So, I mean, so you're gonna be in law enforcement yet,
but you're trying to get that more higher education to
accommodate were in the badge yeah and the gun.
Speaker 2 (25:59):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
So I always believed that I could play a cop
on TV when I was an actor. I used to
be an actor many years ago, but I always wanted
and I played a detective in a short film. But
which is a really really cool photo. I have a
photo from when I did that. I'll have to show
you guys one day. I always wanted to play a cop,
like like the punk kid cop, like like late twenties,
(26:23):
early thirties, right, But I never wanted to be a
police officer. Just wanted to kick down the door and
like say some cool like lines and stuff twenty one
Jones Street. Definitely I could be Channing Tatum, but I
could never do it in real life because as a
journalist working with law enforcement and seeing what they do
(26:45):
on a day to day basis. That is not for me.
I could I could never do it. I can play
it on TV, I could never do it in real life.
That's it's hard work. Yeah, it's really hard work. So
I commend you for wanting to go down that route,
that route and give back to those communities that you
grew up in. Last thing I want I want to
(27:06):
leave with is uh for those that have grown up
in similar situations as yourself, who maybe have been in
those environments with friends or family. What is some advice
you could give them as far as breaking those cycles
and going for something that's completely opposite of their environment.
(27:28):
What could you tell them?
Speaker 3 (27:31):
I mean, I would say maybe just try to focus
on yourself kind of just thinking okay, like you are
worth that you can do this, because I don't like
even myself, I have a lot of impostery syndrome. I'm like, okay,
like I'm not worth this. This isn't me, even though
you know obviously I'm doing like my five degrees in
all the classes, Like yeah, I do my stuff, but
(27:52):
I'm still like okay, like it's kind of hard to
seeing someone like me do some stuff like that.
Speaker 2 (27:57):
You know, So I guess it's just a little bit
of uncertainty.
Speaker 3 (28:00):
Yeah, but I think if you just kind of have
it in the back of your mind, like, Okay, this
is what you need to do, then I think that's
really good because you know, yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:11):
No, that's really cool. I'm happy that you mentioned imposter syndrome.
I think a lot of people don't spend enough time
with that kind of terminology, and I don't think enough
people identify that they that they suffer from that. I
too have suffered from that, and I've with my time
in LA and stuff, and I've been called out on
that from some executives that I used to work for.
(28:32):
So that's really cool. Man. You're twenty years old and
you know what that is. Yeah, well you have five degrees,
so apparently you do know what that is. Administrative justice,
criminal justice, psychology, sociology, liberal arts with an emphasis on
social behavior. And you're going to UC Irvine. I assume
(28:53):
you're going to come back and speak to the to
the students someday about your journey.
Speaker 2 (28:58):
I mean, I would love to if someone.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
Asks, okay, if someone asks, okay, no, did you just say,
will you charge us? Oh? Is he going to charge?
Speaker 2 (29:10):
Yeah, no, I'll do it.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
He'll do it for free. He just said it here.
We have it on tape. That is the receipt We
have the receipts on that so well. I want to
wish you the best of luck on your journey. Congratulations
and thanks for hanging out and having a conversation.
Speaker 2 (29:27):
With us today.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
Thanks for tuning in to this special edition of Ramplify.
We'll see you on the next one later
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