Andre Norman is the reason to believe in second chances. His tenacity andpassion for people led him to start his transformational program, The Academy of Hope, a program designed to reduce institutional violence in prisons by providing an intense level of intervention while also creating a positive environment for the inmate population and staff. But this wasn’t always his calling.

Nearly two decades ago, Norman was serving a 100-year sentence in prison, but he was no regular prisoner. A natural-born leader, he rose to be the top gang leader within the facility, running all the daily gang activity.

After an epiphany in solitary confinement, Norman made the decision to turn his life around. He had a simple dream to attend Harvard University and become successful. Over the next 8 years, Andre worked 20-hour days to make this dream a reality.

He shares his story on this edition of the TIME with Fred Podcast.

To learn more about Andre, visit www.andrenorman.com