“All my friends were dying,” Rodriguez told the attentive crowd of about 250 students Wednesday. “Everybody around me was dying. I just don’t know why I wasn’t dying.”

 

He joined a gang at 11, was arrested at 13 and dropped out of school at 15. By 18, he was addicted to heroin, participating in drive-by shootings and committing armed robberies.

Wooster students get the word on gangs

 

 Geralda Miller

 

 Luis Rodriguez wanted to make sure a group of Wooster High School students knew about his 29-year-old son who is serving a 28-year prison sentence for shooting a truck driver and two police officers.

 

The author and poet also wanted the crowd to know about his life as a former gang member in Los Angeles and how he survived.

After serving prison time, Rodriguez, now 50, said he had to leave his neighborhood and did not return for 20 years.

 

But then he had a new sentence. “I sentenced myself to a life of community service,” he said. “No judge had to do that.”

 

He said he also found his calling, which is writing.

 

His 1993 memoir, “Always Running: La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A.,” is his most well-known work, but he also has written children’s books and poetry.

The crowd had many questions for Rodriguez, including: “What do you tell someone who is thinking about joining a gang?”

 

It’s difficult to persuade someone not to join, he said.

 

“But you’ve got to know what you’re getting into,” he said.

 

His message touched many of the students, who stood around waiting to talk to him after his talk. “I think he’s absolutely incredible,” said Marin Aronds, a senior. “The things he’s been through and does. The way he gives his time now is admirable.”

 

Rosa Catu, a 17-year-old senior, said he motivated her to keep her goal of working with others.

 

“I think that it’s really good that he’s going around the country trying to talk to people and open their eyes,” she said. “Maybe they’ll think about goals in the future and not end up in the wrong way. Mine were already open.”