Homeless in Silicon Valley, jailed at 18, now UC Berkeley’s top graduate at 43

Photography by Estefany Gonzalez

The heels of Charles Long’s shoes gave out somewhere along Telegraph Avenue.

Long had just crossed the stage at Memorial Stadium, newly minted as UC Berkeley’s top graduating senior, and was trying to make the 15-minute walk to the restaurant down the street where his family had secured a table. It took him over an hour. Strangers kept stopping him…

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