Sacramento State communications major Dustin Forrester never gave up on his dreams, even when his family was dealing with one of its worst financial struggles.

His parents were falling behind on bills, and his part- time job at Wells Fargo could not significantly change the situation.

“I’ve seen what rock bottom looks like,” Forrester said. “I promised myself I’d never allow that for myself or my family again.”

Forrester was a star student-athlete in high school and community college and decided to use his talents to play semi-professional basketball, to help his family get through the financial crisis.

At Hiram Johnson High School, Forrester received scholarship opportunities, but lost the offers when his coach told the interested schools he was going to an Ivy League university due to his exceptional grades.

“I was the valedictorian in High School.” Forrester said. “I have held a 4.0 GPA since elementary school.”

If not for that misunderstanding, the 6-foot-1-inch combo guard might have been somewhere else, but the mix up did not stop his dream of playing basketball.

“I was gonna work hard no matter where I was at.” Forrester said. “I’ll play till I can’t walk anymore.”

He chose to play for Sacramento City College because it was close to home and because the coaches still recruited him, despite the unlikelihood he would attend.

At City College, Forrester became a star shooter during the 2007-09 season. He averaged 18 points per game and finished top 10 in school history in 3-point shots made.

“On the court, Forrester is the best shooter I have ever played with.” said former City College teammate Teandre Cooksie. “He is always in the right place, at the right time.”

Besides being one of the best guards in the state, Forrester made the City Colleges Dean’s List every year.

Because of his performance on and off the court, Forrester had scholarship offers from at least 10 Division II schools. During this same time period, America’s economic collapse affected his family tremendously.

Forrester lived with his parents and saw the devastating effects on his father’s real estate job.

His family’s financial struggles during the recession made him consider skipping a four-year university to play basketball professionally.

He knew some players on the Sacramento Heatwave of the American Basketball Association, and saw this as a stepping stone to play overseas and make some real money. Forrester made the team and quickly excelled.

The American Basketball Association is a semi-professional league comprised of more than 50 teams in the United States and China, filled with former NBA players and college basketball stars.

He played three seasons for the Sacramento Heatwave and averaged more than 20 points per game.

Despite the allure of semi-professional basketball, the money he was making did not help out as much as he had hoped.

“I wanted something with more financial stability,” Forrester said. “I found out that unless you are in the NBA, you don’t get much financial stability playing hoops.”

After realizing the semi-professional basketball route was not going to help his family, he decided to attend Sac State and earn a degree.

“I felt it was a good decision for him to go pro because not everyone gets an opportunity,” said City College teammate Amir Padilla. “But I knew he would eventually go back to get his degree.”

Once a student plays professional basketball, the athlete is no longer eligible to play collegiate sports, but he still plays intramural basketball at Sac State.

He will be graduating in December and plans on moving to Los Angeles in pursuit of acting opportunities and an internship at Warner Brothers Studio.

“I want to be able to give my family the world.” Forrester said. “They blessed me with a great life, and I want to be successful enough to pay them back.”