CALIFORNIA
After placement into the foster care system at 18 months, rotating between more than a dozen homes and finding herself surrounded by negativity, Jessica Tacdol has found herself. She graduated Saturday from California State University, Stanislaus, headed on the path to mentor others, repaying the support she has received from counselors over her 22 tumultuous years.
Tacdol was removed from her parents' custody when she was a baby, was adopted at age 5, then unadopted by the time she was 10, and lived in a Stockton children's shelter. It wasn't until high school that Tacdol found a surrogate mother on whom she could rely. Twice abandoned, Tacdol earned a bachelor's degree in liberal studies and is the first CSU, Stanislaus, student to graduate under the university's Promise Scholars Program, which offers guidance and financial aid to foster care youth.
Nearly 80,000 California children live in foster care, according to various studies, and many lack mentoring and family support needed to transition successfully to adulthood. The high school graduation rate of such students is below 50 percent, less than 10 percent of youth who grew up in foster care enroll in college, and less than 3 percent graduate from college, according to Casey Family Programs, a nonprofit advocacy group.
Tacdol and Wanda Bonnell, Promise Scholars Program director, spoke to The Bee last week about Tacdol's accomplishment:
Q: "Why did you choose to go into teaching/counseling?"
A: Tacdol: "I always wanted to be a teacher. As I started working with young kids, I started wanting to touch older students' lives. ... I want to help them when they're older. I want to help them (as a high school counselor) get into college. ... I have an itch, and I can tell when kids are struggling."
Q: "How do you pay for college?"
A: Tacdol: "Through the Promise Scholars Program and grants, that pays for my tuition and most of my housing. About $5,000 or $7,000 is left over. I've worked odd jobs. Now I work part time at the child development center (on campus)."
Q: "Why was it so important to you to get a college degree?"
A: "It's another (hoop) you have to go through. It's a gateway. It also helps you grow -- a lot of people are ignorant. ... Without college, there's no clue where I could have ended up."
Q: "What has kept you going through your ups and downs?"
A: Tacdol: "I was surrounded by constant failure. Because I was able to see the outcome, I wanted to do better. I was laying a solid foundation for myself and for my future and not depending on anybody. ... I've also had a lot of people pushing me, putting in all this time and money."
Q: "What made Jessica successful in college?"
A: Bonnell: "These students have to be resilient. Educationally, they have less advantages in lots of cases. ... I'm very proud of her. She's a role model."
Q: "What have you learned about yourself while attending college?"
A: Tacdol: "Confidence. My self-esteem. (Growing up), I didn't have people telling me positive things about myself. Now, all kinds of people are."
Michelle Hatfield
1 June 2008
