Nationwide — Charles Long Jr., an African American man from Berkeley, California, who was formerly homeless and incarcerated, graduated with highest honors at the age of 43. He completed his UC Berkeley journey after years of instability and earned the school’s top undergraduate medal.
Long finished his studies at the University of California, Berkeley, with a 4.0 GPA as a sociology and social welfare double major. According to KTVU, he was named University Medalist, the highest honor given to a graduating senior at UC Berkeley.
His early life in the Bay Area was marked by hardship. His father went to prison when he was a child, while his mother’s time in rehab led to foster care placements for him and his siblings. Those experiences shaped his early understanding of survival and family separation.
At 18, Long was arrested in Milpitas just before he planned to join the Navy. He later accepted a plea deal and served two years in prison, followed by five years on parole. He has said that period kept him locked into a cycle that was difficult to escape.
After his release, Long experienced homelessness in San Jose. He lived in encampments and faced repeated parole violations tied to where he stayed and who he was around. His life began to shift after the birth of his daughter, when he decided to rebuild and focus on stability.
He returned to education at age 37 at Moreno Valley College, a community college in Riverside County, before transferring to the University of California, Berkeley. He started at UC Berkeley at age 40 and joined the Berkeley Underground Scholars, a campus program for formerly incarcerated and system-impacted students.
While at Berkeley, Long also volunteered with Teach in Prison and mentored young people in juvenile detention facilities. His academic work focused on prison education programs and rehabilitation, including research connected to San Quentin State Prison and the impact of mentoring inside prisons.
He received the University Medal at graduation, awarded to students with a GPA of 3.96 or higher. At California Memorial Stadium Commencement, he spoke in front of about 7,000 graduates and described how lived experience can be turned into action and service.
Long plans to take a gap year, travel to Africa, and prepare for Ph.D. studies in restorative justice. He also intends to continue research on incarceration, education, and rehabilitation programs.