Today Sammy Rangel is a social worker with a master’s degree. But as a young man he got into a lot of trouble. Rangel spent many years in prison…including a long stint in isolation in a Supermax prison. He begins this week’s StoryCorps with a turning point.

StoryCorps’ mission is to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to share, record and preserve their stories. These excerpts, edited by WBEZ, present some of our favorites from the current visit, as well as from previous trips. Special thanks this week to StoryCorps facilitator Andre Perez.