When La Shawn Ray talks to his students at the Area Learning Center about making the most of opportunities, all he has to do is point to himself.

Ray is the new administrator at the ALC, a program for students who have not succeeded in a traditional school setting. When school opens Sept. 8 in St. Cloud, Ray will share his life story as a way to show the students that it is possible to rise up from difficult circumstances.

When Ray was 14 his mother died and he became a ward of the state of Illinois, an orphan who was shuffled from family member to family member, living on welfare and struggling to take life and school seriously.

“I honestly didn’t think I would live past 25,” Ray said last week from his office at the ALC. “I thought I’d be dead or in jail. That is the path a lot of people I knew followed. That’s where they ended up.”

Those are startling words from a 38-year-old school administrator wearing a nice white shirt and tie who earns more than $93,000 a year.

But it was reality for a boy growing up on the south side of Chicago with no mother and a father who paid little attention to him.

It was a stern talk from an older sister that set Ray onto the road that has brought him to St. Cloud.

“I remember that conversation like it was yesterday,” Ray said.

Ray’s sister told him that he needed to make some positive decision in his life or it would be “the end of the road.”

“I say my sister saved my life,” Ray said.

Superintendent Steve Jordahl said Ray’s life story can be an inspiration not just for the students at the ALC but for the entire district.

“He’s a success story. Anybody who fights off adversity coming out on the right side of it is pretty big deal. His adversity creates a great deal of character,” Jordahl said.

Ray graduated from Taft High School in Chicago and found his way into Iowa State University in Ames through a program that gives young black students a chance to succeed.

And he did. He scored a 4.0 grade-point average during his first year at Iowa State.

But he also had ambitions to play college basketball. He took a shot at Iowa State’s team, but a Division 1 program was a big step for a young man who had never played organized ball and whose skills were honed on playgrounds.

So Ray transferred to Normandale Community College in Bloomington, and then to the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, where he got a bachelor’s degree.

He went into teaching and was hired as a behavioral specialist working with children with emotional and behavioral issues in the Minneapolis school district.

“That’s a tough crowd. You work there, you can work anywhere,” Ray said.

He moved to the privately run St. Joseph Home for Children, then to Osseo school district as a dean of students at a junior high school. He then became an assistant principal in Champlin Park, then moved to St. Paul school district to seek a more urban setting as an assistant principal.

“I learned a lot. I feel like what I have to offer is powerful for all children,” Ray said.

Ray earned a master’s degree from St. Cloud State University while commuting from Maple Grove and Blaine, where he still lives with his wife, Gretchen, and three children.

He said he has learned during his career that children can benefit from his life story.

He said he will tell the younger students in the St. Cloud district that they don’t have to wait until they are 18 or 19 as he did to start making the right decisions.

“The older children — I did it, there is still a chance. At some point what it is going to take is hope of making a difference,” Ray said.

Ray was hired in August. He has met a few of his teachers and said he is looking forward to meeting the students.

“I am excited to be here. I hope I have a lot to offer,” Ray said.

Jordahl said he believes Ray will make a difference because of his skills and life experiences. The school he will oversee has about 260 students enrolled.

“I believe he will bring hope to kids who face adversity already in their lives. He’ll come along and say ... ‘This is how you can succeed. Don’t let these problems you’ve encountered in your life get in the way,’” Jordahl said.