College QBs Journey From Prison To Motivational Speaker Is A Life Lesson For Dallas ISD Students

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Damon West starts his presentation with, "We got the Uptown burglar. That's the name I'm gonna have to live with for the rest of my life. That's the consequences of my decisions and I wanna tell you because the choices you're making today are gonna live with you for the rest of your life."

Regarded as the leader in an organized ring that committed dozens of burglaries in Uptown Dallas starting in 2007, West was arrested in 2008. Initially he was sentenced to 65 years in prison. "That jury was able to sentence me to life in prison," he said. "Obviously I didn't do the entire life sentence because I'm standing in front of you today."

Freed from prison in 2015, West will be on parole until 2073. He recently shared his life story with student leaders in training from 22 Dallas Independent School District high schools.

West told CBS 11 News, "I've had a privileged life... got set back with the choices that I made and went to prison. It's an interesting dynamic too when you talk about race in there because you know, it was for the first time that being white was no longer the advantage."

Alondra Lemmer, a Dallas ISD Leader in Training, says, "I would take it as even though you come from a really bad place, or like you're in a really bad spot, you can bring yourself upwards."

Once a quarterback at the University of North Texas (UNT), West is proof that life is all about decisions. Now a motivational speaker, his transformation started with a concept shared with him in prison….which helped him co-author a Wall Street Journal best seller titled 'The Coffee Bean.'

West explains, "The coffee bean changes the pot of boiling water into a pot of coffee. It's the only thing that can change the water. Everything else is changed by the water. If we would be like that coffee bean and change our world from the inside out, we understand that our worlds are not determined from the outside in."

And at Dallas' Samuell High School that very premise had thoughts brewing inside the minds of student athletes.

"I was really impressed to see how focused the students were and Mr. West definitely gained their attention," said Samuell High Assistant Athletic Coordinator Cherry DeLeon.

Steve Pierce, Samuell High Athletic Coordinator, said, "Hopefully the message they received this morning maybe can be something that they can take out in the neighborhood and take to their family as well."

It's a message West has been invited to deliver to some of the biggest programs in the country. Alabama head football Coach Nick Saban once said, "I think his story is very compelling because of the sacrifices that he had to make to get his life back where it needed to be."

Damon West knows he'll never be able to change the past but just maybe he can be the difference in steering young people, including those in DFW, toward a bright future.

West proclaims, "I can show you the consequences of decisions, but better yet I can show you how to overcome those consequences. There's a lot of value in that."

Lemmer added, "Even if you're not starting your life off right, you have the opportunity that life is giving you to keep going."

West ends his presentation by telling the students, "The three hardest words for people to say to another human being [are] -- I need help. But you know what the four most important words for a person to hear from another human being are -- I believe in you. I believe in you. I believe in everyone of you in this room."