Former Foster Youth Overcomes Challenges to Earn College Degree

When John Devine was a child, his mother shared with him her dream that he would be the first in his family to go to college, earn his degree, work in a career that he loved and raise a family. Now, with his graduation on June 20 in sight, a good portion of that dream is about to be a reality with the support of Cal State San Bernardino’s EOP Renaissance Scholars Program, which assists current and former foster youths like Devine. It was when Devine, sociology major, picked up his cap and gown at the university bookstore that the reality of a goal achieved was at hand. “As soon as I touched them, I was like, ‘Four years passed already? It doesn’t seem like it,’” he recalled. “It took a lot to get here.” The road to a college degree is not without its challenges; Devine’s quest was particularly difficult. When he was 12, his mother and grandmother, who both had raised him, died. With no other family able to take him in, he was placed in foster care, which meant four different foster families in six years. And once he reached the age of 18, he “aged out” of the foster care system – no family was required to care for him – which left him with no safety net and a seemingly bleak future. A 2007 report by the Children’s Advocacy Institute at the University of San Diego School of Law found that 65 percent of all foster youth had no home after aging out, 51 percent were unemployed, and only 20 percent who completed high school even attempted going to college, compared to 60 percent of their peers. The same report said between 1 to 3 percent of former foster youth went on to earn a college degree. Still, there was his mother’s dream – and that drove Devine. “If I didn’t do well in high school, I wouldn’t be able to attend college and take advantage of the financial aid available, making me a high risk for homelessness,” he said. After graduating from San Jacinto High School as an honor student, he enrolled at CSUSB, where the Educational Opportunity Program’s Renaissance Scholars Program specifically works with current and former foster youths. Many of them do not have the support behind them to guide them through the college application process, much less through their years as they work toward a degree. The Renaissance Scholars Program – students chose the name because the program offers them a chance at a new beginning – provides the support a traditional student would receive. “The EOP Renaissance Scholars Program strives to provide our students with basic needs so they can focus on their academic endeavors,” said Veronica Amerson, the EOP director at CSUSB. “These vital services include safe year-around housing to avoid homelessness during the summer months, assistance with unmet costs for food during school breaks when campus dining facilities are closed and other academic related expenses. We provide guidance, support and direction that a family would ordinarily offer a traditional student.” Each student is also assigned a mentor who is an upper classman. The program encourages the student to get involved in university life, as well as preparation for life after graduation from CSUSB. As of the 2014 fall quarter, 56 students were EOP Renaissance Scholars at CSUSB, and since the program was established in 2003, it has had 54of its students graduate through spring 2015. “When we witness one of our Renaissance Scholars earn their degree, it is such an accomplishment and sense of fulfillment, because we know that we have contributed towards transforming our students life along with the future generation of their own family,” Amerson said. As Devine navigated through his college years at CSUSB, the EOP staff that included Amerson and EOP counselor and foster youth program coordinator Michael Edwards guided and supported him and his fellow students, all the while holding them to high expectations – nothing less than a grade-point average of 2.0. It was the kind of structure Devine welcomed. “They set the bar high because they want us all to do well,” he said. “The expectations are needed so that we can move on to the next level.” As a senior this past year, he mentored sophomores in the EOP Renaissance Scholars Program, passing on to them what he’s learned. “When we sit down and have our meetings, I let them know that they can achieve anything they desire,” Devine said. “But it takes faith, it takes perseverance, to get there.” With a bachelor’s degree in sociology and certificates in social services and gerontology, Devine’s next step is graduate school at CSUSB’s School of Social Work. He’s already working full time with Children and Family Services of San Bernardino County as a peer and family assistant. Along with that, he also is an advocate for foster youth, having traveled to Sacramento and Washington, D.C., for the Foster Club to speak to elected officials and policy makers on issues affecting youth who face similar challenges as Devine did. In May, he was also selected to attend the 2015 Congressional Foster Youth Shadow Experience in Washington, D.C., to shadow a Congress member. He met Judy Chu, the U.S. representative for California's 27th congressional district and discussed with her foster youth and improvements needed for the Independent Living Program as well as the usage of psychotropic medications sometimes prescribed to foster youth. Inspired by his mother’s dream, his own drive and the help of the EOP Renaissance Scholars Program, he says he looks forward to a career of helping others. “Since most of my work is advocating for foster youth – that’s my passion – so I don’t take it as, ‘Oh my gosh, I have to get up and go to work,’” Devine said. “I wake up with a smile on my face and say, ‘It’s a great day to change lives.’” Looking back when he first arrived at CSUSB, Devine said, “I thought I was going to be in worse shape, honestly. I didn’t believe that opportunities opened up doors.” And now, “I’m happy I’m this transformed person. “If it wasn’t for the EOP Renaissance Scholars Program support and assistance the last four years that I’ve been here at CSUSB, I probably would not be graduating,” he said. “I would not have had the support system that I have now. I would not have the friendships of all the staff at EOP who gave me a helping hand or a shoulder to lean on, who could tell me, ‘You know what? You’re not alone. We’re all going to be with you.’ … Now I want to be an advocate for foster youth whenever I can.” To make a gift to the EOP Renaissance Scholars Program, visit the CSUSB Office of Development website at https://development.csusb.edu, or contact Terri Carlos, director of Alumni and Annual Giving, at tcarlos@csusb.edu or 909-537-7576.