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Meet Renee
Age
23 (entered foster care at age 17)
Major
Business administration
Career goal
“My bachelor’s now, maybe an MSW and MBA later.”
Why college?
“I’ve always been a self-propelled, college-bound, good student, but having a roof over your head is the biggest deal when you age out of foster care. I had no other options—nowhere else to live if not in the dorms.”
What helped the most?
”My second foster family helped me a lot and they really pushed me. I had perfect job attendance with my foster mom’s help ('you go to work unless you’re puking or dying')."
What do you wish you’d known before
leaving care?
“When I got offered my first financial aid package, I was scared of loans. If somebody could have told me it was a good thing, I would have taken them. I eventually got there.”
Meet Michael
Age
20 (entered foster care at age 14)
Major
Double major in Economics and Spanish
Career goal
“Spanish is my real passion and economics is a money-getter.”
Why college?
“I first decided I wanted to go to college when I met a teacher who admitted to me that he was once a foster child. This provided a role model I could relate to: If he could do it, why couldn’t I?”
What helped the most?
“When I was finally matched up [after multiple home and school changes] with a role-model foster family, I stabilized, and so did my grades (from mostly Ds to nothing below a B).”
What was the greatest barrier?
“The biggest obstacle for me was gaining enough self-confidence to believe I deserved something so great.”
About Casey Family Scholars 
“When young people in foster care reach the age of 18, most face the world alone with few permanent connections and little family support. Our scholarships will provide both the funds they desperately need to continue an education as well as caring adults who share their dreams of the future."
Ruth Massinga
President and CEO
Casey Family Programs
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