It’s hard to find many people with a better morning routine than Michael DeLaVega.
The 24 year old is up at 4:30 a.m. everyday, and by around 6 a.m. he’s already in the gym, having made breakfast, gotten ready for the day, and walked his dogs, Luck and Chloe. DeLaVega, now a budding bodybuilder, lifts weights for two hours before returning home and starting on homework for his psychology classes that he takes at Sierra College. A full-time student, DeLaVega studies diligently throughout the day, and he’s in bed by 8:30 p.m. without fail.
With a 4.0 GPA, DeLaVega is in good shape to transfer to the University of California, Davis by next fall, where he hopes to pursue his masters in psychology.
But DeLaVega, a lifelong Grass Valley resident, is the first to admit that for most of his life, his story was the furthest thing from inspiring.
In September 2019, DeLaVega stood in a Nevada County courtroom and listened as a judge sentenced him to five years behind bars. DeLaVega received that sentence after he confessed to a felony charge of smuggling methamphetamine into the Nevada County Jail, where he had previously been incarcerated. This most recent sentence was by far his longest jail term yet — and it awakened DeLaVega to the nightmare his life had become.
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