Georgette S. is a senior at Cal State University Long Beach. She joined RTS last year, and her path toward graduation has not been a conventional one. As a former foster youth, Georgette knew that she wanted to make a difference in the lives of others, but after graduating from High School her classes at a local community college didn’t seem all that important to her.

She dropped out of school, and as time went on she felt more and more that her options were limited without a degree.  Even though nearly 95% of foster youth want to graduate college, only 3% go on to finish their degrees. Even now, Georgette was determined to beat those odds and returned to school at the age of 53.

On campus, Georgette became involved with the CSULB Guardian Scholars, and became a community leader and advocate for current and former foster youth. However, she found it increasingly difficult to balance academics with caring for her elderly mother.

“The biggest challenge at college has been balancing between schoolwork and responsibilities at home, as I’m caring for my mother who has MS and dementia while attending school,” she says.

Georgette decided to take the courageous step of asking for help and applied to be a Ready to Succeed Scholar.  Thanks to you, Georgette was able to access mental health services to help her find the balance she needed to succeed, and her RTS advisors helped to make her career ready.

“My RTS advisor helped  me tune up my resume, taught me how to put my best foot forward in the interview process, helped me establish goals for myself, and taught me about how to use my LinkedIn profile. Now, I feel like there are so many opportunities available to me once I complete my degree.” Georgette is on track to graduate this year, and will be a 2023 Pat McCabe Service Fellow.  Georgette says that she is excited for what the future holds.