As Mario Bracamontes (pictured on the left) begins to share his story, the similarities with Manny Scott's are unmistakable.
He comes from a humble family: his dad mowed lawns for a living to provide for Mario, his two brothers, and two sisters. He describes their house as the scariest on the block with no shower and no heat, although the gangs were numerous—so he joined one.
"I've gotten in a lot of trouble but I'm not a bad person and the kids are not bad people either—we just all make mistakes," Mario said.
He was expelled from four elementary schools, as well as middle schools and high schools. He was sent to a juvenile detention center and an alternative school that could not even contain him.
"I kept on getting in trouble and I kept on getting arrested," Mario said. "I have been in almost every single county jail possible and I finally got thrown into a halfway house."
There were gang fights each week. He broke into Pharr-San Juan-Alamo High School and stole all of the computers. His two best friends growing up were killed. So were all of his cousins.
"I was in a halfway house and they said the only way I was going to get out after being there for a year and eight months was if I got my GED and found a job. I was 19. I didn't care about life. I didn't care about God. I didn't care about anything."
But then a man approached him, noted that he looked athletic, and asked if he'd like to play rugby. Although he was accustomed to only tackle football as part of gang life, he eventually agreed.
"This man put me in rugby. I fell in love with it. I got addicted to it and I have been playing it for 23 years."
That man did more than just introduce him to rugby though—he also introduced him to college.
"He tricked me. He took me to a college and said 'I need your help.' Little did I know that he registered me. He made me sign a paper for him for financial aid. I started college without even knowing how to do a fraction, not even knowing how to do a composition, because I was never in school or class. I only had three credits in high school. But when I started college I fell in love with a teacher, which is what reminds me so much of Freedom Writers. This teacher—she blew me away. I was taking remedial math and she just blew me away. I never thought school could be like that. From there, I kept on going and going."
And he hasn't stopped. Mario went from a community college, to The University of Texas-Pan American, to Harvard University. All the while, he continued to play rugby. He graduated with a degree in education from UTPA as well as a master's in educational administration. He is currently working on his Ph.D. to become a superintendent.
He first became a teacher in the very district in which he was expelled, then an assistant principal, and now he serves as principal at Liberty Middle School.
"I got expelled and kicked out of every school in this district—and it's a big district—but mark my words: not only was I a teacher here, assistant principal, and now principal, but I'm going to also become a superintendent."
Mario turned the page thanks to the man who approached him to play rugby. In return, Mario and his brother Carlos coach rugby for some of the most at-risk kids in the area in an effort that has been widely recognized and applauded by community leaders (note the local TV station covering the program in this video). It all started when he was teacher, encouraging kids to stop doing drugs and get out of their gangs.
"Little did I know that I was telling these kids to get out, but I was separating them from their only family. I had a kid come up to me one time all beat up and he said 'what do I do now?' and I had nothing to offer him. I felt like I had done the worse thing to him because I took him away from the only people that cared about him, even though it was a gang. I told myself from that point on that if I ever take a kid out of something—gangs, drugs—I'm going to have something to offer him. And that's when I created the rugby program."
Kids who should have dropped out or been expelled are now playing on rugby teams that compete against the top schools in Texas. But it's more than being good at rugby—Mario and Carlos are instilling character and teaching life skills, since 95 percent do not have a mother and father living together.
There have been dramatic changes at the school he oversees as well. Before Mario came, 43 students were sent to an alternative school but last year, there were just three. He has also created a mentoring program where each staff member partners with an at-risk student. The mentors and students have breakfast together every two weeks and the students can approach their mentors at any time to be heard. And, in turn, the students mentor younger kids at a nearby elementary school where his sister is a principal.
On March 28, Manny spoke to Mario's students in a school-wide "Turn the Page" Assembly.
"It made our school get so much closer," Mario said. "It was amazing. They love him. And it wasn't just my school—the whole district is talking about him. We need to do this more. It really inspired me to do even more myself. I had never seen the way he got to the kids. Manny didn't just captivate one group of kids either—it was every single kid. They often think 'it's just me, I'm the one who's suffering.' But they saw that there are so many more kids at the school going through what they're going through."
He notes that he's not the typical principal—he doesn't wear suits and ties and he spends 99 percent of his time with the students. Attire doesn't matter when changing lives.
"I went through hell and I know that Manny went through hell—that's why I love what he does. I see these kids and some people don't understand them because they haven't gone through what I've gone through and what Manny has gone through. If I had somebody like Manny or me when I was a kid I wouldn't have ended up in jail, my friends wouldn't have ended up dead. That's why I say I know I can help these kids out. God has helped me out so much. Look where I'm at—I should be in prison or dead right now. I told God that if He keeps helping me, I promise I will go 110% with these kids and I'm not stopping."
It's a passion that Manny identified immediately.
"When I arrived in Pharr, I met Mario, and we talked for a while about his students, and eventually got into his story. This guy has been through so much and now is giving so much back to his community. Listening to him really inspired me. It’s nice to meet people who have been through some of the same things I’ve experienced, and overcame them like I did. I think there is much that can be learned from this guy about building relationships with young people, and being a transformed non-conformist. He is so unorthodox in his manner, his message, and his methods, and it is working. I hope to do some more work with Mario in the future. He is truly one of America’s up and coming stars in education, and I celebrate his tireless dedication and ceaseless determination, and unrelenting vigor."