The secret to getting kids off the streets and into college
BY BARBARA DAVENPORT
IN OCTOBER 2001 , Chris Yanov ’ 99 took a day off from substitute teaching at Ray Kroc Middle School , one of the toughest schools in San Diego . Instead , he spun a wheel in Culver City , California , guessed “ R ” and solved the puzzle : “ British Prime Minister Tony Blair .” Yanov had loved game shows all his life — now he erupted with fanatic intensity . He ’ s on video in his suit and tie , overcome with emotion from making it to the bonus round . He won $ 23,200 dollars that day , more than he ’ d make in two years as a substitute teacher .
Most game show winners spend their loot on big ticket items like a new car , an exotic vacation or shiny appliances . Yanov had another idea — one that would change his life and the lives of many others .
But while Yanov won that day , the years leading to that spin had been marked with as much disappointment as success . Yes , he graduated from UC San Diego with honors in under three years , yet his extracurricular ambitions had fallen flat . Since freshman year , he ’ d spent an enormous amount of time volunteering off campus , running a youth program at the tiny Iglesia Presbiteriana Hispaña in San Diego ’ s Golden Hill neighborhood , a rough area a world away from campus .
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