How one CSULB doctoral graduate is paying it forward after journey from prison

Dr. Dale Lendrum ‘15, ‘18, ‘21 spent the better part of the 1990s and 2000s strung out on drugs and living on the streets.

“There was a period for a number of years that if you went down a stretch on Long Beach Boulevard, you would find me begging by Denny's,” he said in a 2017 Beach Magazine article.

Lendrum has faced and beat the odds by receiving his Doctor of Education in educational leadership with a specialization in community college/higher education and an emphasis in social justice. He says he hopes to one day use that degree to teach college-level courses in state prisons.

Lendrum was jailed more than two dozen times and imprisoned six times. But it was a 2008 drug rehabilitation course in an Orange County jail that changed his trajectory and inspired him to further his education.

He enrolled at Golden West College and later CSULB, where he earned his B.A. in interpersonal communications. He went on to receive his master’s degree to teach communication studies.

Since then, he’s taught courses at CSULB and East Los Angeles College. On his bucket list is to teach college-level courses in prison, which he hopes to pursue when prisons lift COVID-19 restrictions.

“What folks are able to obtain on the inside kind of makes the most difference when they walk out that gate,” he said. “If they walk out with a dehumanizing experience, then they are already set up for failure.”

Giving back by donating to ASI Beach Pantry was a no brainer, he said. “I’ve been on the streets, I’ve been homeless; if I’m blessed, I have to be a blessing.”

Facing homelessness opened his eyes up to how food insecurity can affect a student’s path to success.

“When you consider some of our students are parents of minor children, contributing to things like the Beach Pantry takes on an increased level of importance,” he said.

Currently in California, more than 30 prisons offer higher education courses and associate degree programs. The big push right now, Lendrum says, is to start offering bachelor’s degree programs. “It doesn’t matter if you are on the inside or the outside,” he added, “education can enhance your life and life experiences.”

Something that Lendrum says he will bring to the table as an in-prison instructor is relatability.

“Once you can get that kind of relation and bonding part down, it makes everything else in teaching easier,” he said. “They are ready and willing to get the work done.”

Lendrum said that his inclination to give back to CSULB comes from The Beach offering him an environment where he could make a difference in his life, regardless of his background.

“They didn’t care about my past, they cared about my future,” he said about the campus.

He also donates to not only help students, but the people around them, too.

“Your donation doesn’t impact that individual that you are blessing,” he added, “it impacts every life that comes into contact with that individual. You’re not just enriching a single life, you are enriching lives.”