Two men named Wes Moore were raised in high-crime, big-city neighborhoods.

Today, one is serving a life sentence in prison, while the other is serving a lifelong passion to help kids thrive as CEO of the Robin Hood Foundation, a renowned New York City nonprofit.

The difference between the two is merely one mentor from the Valley Forge Military Academy, according to a People magazine feature by Diane Herbst.

After three childhood arrests, Moore’s mother “packed up the car and threw me in, and I thought she was kidding at first,” he said of being taken to the Valley Forge Military Academy at age 13. “She had been threatening me with this for years.”

Life at Valley Forge provided a new perspective for him.

“What I began to understand is that my life had a relevance to someone other than just me,” he said.

Moore then went from Valley Forge Military Academy to Johns Hopkins University and the U.S. Army.

Along the way, he met the other Wes Moore, a man who inspired his 2010 New York Times-bestselling memoir.

“He helps remind me every time I see him about life’s impermanence,” Moore said. “We are not promised anything — in a moment’s notice, things can change by the decisions that we make.”

Moore has since given back through his BridgeEdU and now the Robin Hood Foundation, which supports schools, healthcare providers, food pantries, and more.

Read more about Wes Moore’s life-changing experiences in People magazine here.