Damion lives with his grandparents near Watts in Vermont Vista, which ranks third in violent crime among more than 200 L.A. neighborhoods mapped by The Times. The median household income in the predominantly black and Latino neighborhood is $31,000. Only 6% of adults have four-year college degrees.
The high school student aims to beat those odds. He will graduate as class valedictorian in June. And if he can scrape together enough financial aid, he will be the first in his family to attend college.
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