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SOUTH PASADENA
Scholarship for transitioning foster youth is more than just money
T
By Allison Brown Pasadena Weekly Staff Writer
he Pasadena Community Foundation received $10 million from the Margie & Robert E. Petersen Foundation to establish a scholarship program to help remove the typical obstacles encountered by transition-age foster youth as they pursue their education. “We are honored by the opportunity to steward this significant legacy,” said Jennifer DeVoll, PCF president and CEO. “These students face additional challenges as they transition into adulthood, and the availability of wrap-around support for financial, social-emotional and hardship needs will allow them to focus on priorities and general well-being. The Petersen Scholars Program will expand opportunities for transition-age foster youth to achieve their career goals.” The program, named the Margie & Robert E. Petersen Scholarship Endowment for Transition Age Foster Youth, is in response to a huge problem in both the local community and nationwide. According to Kate Clavijo, PCF grants program director, currently in California, 62% of foster youth enroll in college, but only 10% of those students attain a degree. “A lot of things that we take for granted in terms of what it takes to succeed in college, this population just doesn’t have access to,” Clavijo said. She said there are many factors that play into this. Some do not think about the number of times a foster child moves and has to switch schools. Clavijo said this sets back their learning and that affects their academic preparation for college. Of course, finances is one of the more obvious setbacks for foster youth pursuing secondary education. Clavijo said scholarships are usually given to the highest-performing students, but, usually, the ones who really need that funding don’t always fit into that category. “We’ve heard over and over again about foster youth living in their cars while they’re attending school and working more than 30 hours a week,” she said. The scholarship program would help alleviate that financial stress to allow students more time to focus on their academics. Recipients wouldn’t just receive a lump sum of money and be sent off to college, though. Clavijo said from other scholarship programs the Pasadena Community Foundation has offered, they have learned how to best support students, and it takes more than money. “Financial assistance alone is not enough to support a student. We’ve learned to connect some kind of financial reward with a caring adult,” she explained. “We’ve learned that it’s really important that not just money reaches the students but also support in the form of a mentor or an academic counselor, somebody who really cares about the student and will follow up with them and check in and see, beyond academics, what their other needs are.” Jeannine Bogaard, senior program manager, said the foundation has taken several steps to ensure it is maximizing the assistance given to recipients. She said they have spent months researching the living conditions, challenges and even legislation regarding foster youth. The foundation has also partnered with community colleges in the area who can weigh in on what they have seen with college-age foster students. Of course, Bogaard said no one knows the challenges transitioning foster youth experience better than themselves, which is why she is utilizing their help, too. “We’ve reached out to former foster youth and have spoken to them about some of what they lived in their reality,” Bogaard said. “Then we also wanted to organize an advisory committee so former foster youth could advise us and sort of enlighten us as to some of the challenges that they faced that we might not be aware of given that we’ve had a more privileged situation.” The scholarship program will launch this fall with a smaller cohort of about 30 students. The goal is to support 90 students annually. For more information, visit pasadenacf.org. 03.03.22 | PASADENA WEEKLY 5
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