​​Dale Lendrum battled a 28-year history of drug addiction and incarceration to arrive where he is today—a proud doctoral student at California State University, Long Beach. A seven-year cancer survivor, Dale is pursuing a doctorate in educational leadership despite daily challenges of panic, anxiety and PTSD issues resulting from his past.

A strong advocate for social justice, Dale has committed his life to “paying it forward” and helping others through education. He is an adjunct professor who teaches dual enrollment students at East Los Angeles College and is entering his fourth year as a volunteer faculty member for Likewise College, which provides postsecondary educational degree programs to prisoners within the Arkansas Department of Corrections. He also brought Project Rebound, a program for formerly incarcerated students, to Cal State Long Beach.​​

Dale attributes his transformation to higher education: earning a Bachelor of Arts (2015) and a Master of Arts (2018) in communication studies—both from CSULB.​​​