Education Sets Formerly Incarcerated Student on the Path to Entrepreneurial Success
After earning 10 associates degrees while behind bars, accounting student, Jahaziel Sanchez, plans to continue his education with a bachelor’s and master’s degree while running his unique photography business.
By Suzanne Finch
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
Greek philosopher, Socrates, allegedly uttered the phrase while he was being tried for “corrupting the youth” of Athens in 399 B.C.
Ironically, these are the words that captured the world view of Jahaziel (pronounced HA-see-el) Sanchez, now an accounting major at San Diego State University’s Fowler College of Business.
Sanchez, a San Diego native, knew that a “traditional” life wasn’t appealing to him and that he wanted to “explore life to the fullest capacity.”
“Unfortunately, my thrill-seeking nature distorted my world view and took me down a dark path,” he said. “I made some bad decisions that I’m not proud of.”
On his 22nd birthday, Sanchez made life-altering choices that resulted in his arrest on numerous armed robbery felony charges that could have meant decades in prison.
It was the lowest point in Sanchez’s life, but it was also a turning point. He knew that if he didn’t redirect his life immediately, he would spend some of his best years behind bars.
“I’ve always had a deep-rooted desire to learn and evolve,” said Sanchez, who had previously attended community college after his high school graduation. “Once I was on the inside, I decided to focus on personal growth and carefully navigating my new environment. I knew that any misstep could delay my release date and that’s where my relentless pursuit of furthering my education started.”
Now resolved to turn his life around, Sanchez reports that he participated in every program available to him, including Pawsitive Change where he trained rescued dogs and readied them for adoption, and the Conservation (Fire) Camp Program, where he fought fires alongside CalFire. His renewed quest to further his education propelled him to earn 10 associates degrees in everything from business to psychology.
Sanchez’s willingness to better himself didn’t just bolster his self-esteem and confidence: He was released from prison in early 2022 — four years earlier than his original release date in 2026 — and it would be a transformative year in more ways than one.
Mid-way through 2022, he founded a digital marketing service, Market Acquisition Solutions (MAS) which serves as a holding company for SD 360 Photo. SD 360 Photo is a licensed and bonded company that specializes in promoting artists, businesses and special events through the use of a high-quality 360-degree photo booth.
His status as a new business owner also led to Sanchez’s acceptance into the Lavin Entrepreneurs program, which is a two-year series of mentoring, support and exercises designed to provide SDSU sophomores and juniors with the necessary resources to launch and build their new ventures. Though he’s only been a Lavin Entrepreneur for a short time, Sanchez says that the program has already helped him to connect with several mentors as he explores “San Diego’s vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem.”
But that is a few years down the road. In the meantime, Sanchez is becoming accustomed being one of the oldest students in the classroom (he’s 34), and good naturedly learning new meanings to old words like “lit” and “clutch.” He’s also aware of the fact that while he’s made some mistakes in his life, he said he’s hoping that his story could be the catalyst to help others.
