On Sunday, the recent Cal State Long Beach grad posted a photo of himself on a Facebook page for Cal State Long Beach students. It shows 63-year-old Valadez—heavily tattooed, wearing a white tank top, beige chinos and black Nike Cortez—holding his graduation certificate.
Valadez’s message and pictures struck a chord with thousands on social media , who saw in them a testament of resiliency, and an inspiration.
“There’s a misconception about guys like me that I want to break,” the post read. “If I can do it, anyone can.”
By Tuesday morning, his story had gone viral on social media and calls from news outlets started to roll in.
“I haven’t gotten much sleep,” Valadez, calm and seemingly unaffected by the sudden wave of online recognition, said.
It’s hard to shock someone with a life story like […]
Joseph Valadez, 63, asked a fellow student to take his graduation pictures, under one condition: he'd only pay cash. "I don't do credit cards and all that," Valadez, who said he's protective of his private data, explained. (Photographs by Miguel de la Rosa)
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