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61 °F Forecast | Road Cams Friday, May 27, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Britt Festival Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Biz Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend May 15, 2005 Gonzalo Duran-Chaparro was courted by gangs but turned his life around with the help of Kids Unlimited, a local organization that serves 1,000 youths every week. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Kids Unlimited sets teen on right path Boy, 15, was being courted by a local gang and failing school when he got a boost toward a better life By DAMIAN MANN Mail Tribune He’s only 15, but Gonzalo Duran-Chaparro has already turned his life around. In sixth grade, he was expelled. In seventh grade he got into trouble with police for vandalism. He was falling further behind in school and was being courted by a local gang. "They said, ‘If anything happens to you we’ve got your back,’ " he said. "I was hanging out with them like I was part of a gang." Gonzalo said he wanted to change, but he was so far behind in school he thought he’d never catch up. Advertisement That’s when he discovered the executive director of Kids Unlimited. "When I met Tom Cole, he said, ‘I can help you.’ " His study habits improved, his grades got better, and he began to look at his parents differently. "When I started doing better, I saw my parents changed," he said. "I realized they loved me." By the end of seventh grade he became student of the month. In eighth grade, he became student of the year at McLoughlin Middle School. Now a freshman, he is an honor roll student at South Medford High School and a member of the basketball team. Every afternoon, Gonzalo goes to Kids Unlimited to do his homework, saying he enjoys it as much as school. He spoke proudly of a report he did on the Holocaust. Gonzalo is quick to say what would help children and teenagers avoid gangs or bad activity. "After-school programs," he said. "Otherwise many people run around on the streets up to no good." His parents, he said, are hard workers, and his father owns two houses, one in Medford, the other in Central Point. "He said, ‘Gonzalo, I came here to make sure you had a better life.’ " Gonzalo plans on graduating from high school, then going to college with an eye to a career in film. Friends from his past still try to get him to go to parties or just to hang out. But Gonzalo said he avoids them by having his mother tell them he’s not at home, or just by saying, "I’m not into this stuff." Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Free Music Downloads Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg diamonds Distance Education Diamonds Online Poker Auto Insurance Mesothelioma Slippers Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation teleconferencing Website Design & Marketing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Mortgage Calculator Free Home-Loan Referrals Payday Loans Advertisement s