The first time Brayan ever held a gun, he pointed it at a woman stepping out of a gray Lexus and stole her purse — his initiation into an older cousin's gang.

He was 12 years old at the time.

"I was losing control of my life," said Brayan, now 17 and a 4.0 student at Scriber Lake High School in Edmonds, Washington.

A writing teacher helped him to turn his life around.

The teen plans to attend college in the fall and hopes to work with prisoners one day.

(READ the story in the Seattle Times)