Luis Alejo (D-Watsonville) made a special appearance at Central High School Friday to speak to students. With about 100 or so students, Mayor Steve Tate, Morgan Hill Unified School District Superintendent Wes Smith and trustees Claudia Rossi and Ron Woolf, the assembly member spoke about his childhood and how he got to the state capitol. He said he was arrested at 16 while attending Watsonville High School and was put on juvenile probation. After another offense his senior year, the school told him with one more problem, he would be expelled.
“I’m a strong believer in giving people second chances because that’s what people did for me,” he said. “I had some teachers at the time, that no matter what kept telling me ‘you got the potential Luis, to turn your life around.’”
With the support of some of his high school teachers, he graduated. After attending Gavilan College, he went on to the University of California, Berkeley for his undergraduate degree, Harvard University for his master’s degree and the UC Davis School of Law. This is his second term as an assembly member.
The talk was arranged by Rossi, who saw Alejo speak in Gilroy several months ago.
