Juan Villa / The Collegian

For most students, nothing is scarier than uncertainty. Especially the uncertainty faced when making the transition from high school to college.

The fear of not knowing where to park, where your classes are, what you should major in and how you can afford your books.

But for most students there are programs set up to assist them, and they have friends and family to provide support and encouragement –– something that these students often take for granted. There is one student population that is often forgotten and left to handle the difficult adjustment to college-life on their own, former foster youth who have aged out of care. Starting in fall 2008, the Renaissance Scholarship Program (RSP) will launch a new comprehensive program being established to reach out to former foster youth enrolled here at Fresno State. Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) staff member Kizzy Lopez will be the RSP coordinator when the program begins in the fall. Lopez herself is a former foster youth and said the state of foster youth pursuing post secondary education is tragic.

“One third of foster children will be on public assistance as adults and a quarter will be jailed within two years after leaving the system,â€Â Lopez said.

Lopez said that while 70 percent of foster children say they would like to go to college, fewer than 10 percent actually enroll. Of those who do enroll, only one to two percent graduate with a four-year degree.

She said the problem is there is nothing in place to help foster youth once they age out of the system. Former foster youth, once they turn 18, are left to care for themselves, to find money, homes and jobs completely on their own.

“Because I am a former foster youth, I understand the special challenges these students face,â€Â Lopez said, “and without family, friends or a home it’s almost impossible to find the strength to continue an educational career.â€Â

This growing problem has now garnered state-wide attention and several other programs have started up with the same goal in mind as Fresno State̢۪s RSP to reach out to former foster youth and provide them with hope for their future. Minh Ngo is the executive director of the Silicon Valley Children̢۪s Fund (SVCF). SVCF is an organization specifically created to improve the foster care system, to prepare foster children for college and help them succeed once they get there. Ngo said the foster care system up until now has focused on different goals and was never set up to help foster youth prepare for life after they leave the system.

“Education has often been left to the wayside. Most foster care programs focus on getting youth out of dangerous situations and into safe environments and have not even considered support for those who age out of the system,â€Â Ngo said.

Ngo said most foster youth never really get the preparation they need for college because they bounce around from home to home and school to school, and have to deal with life-long psychological issues that differ from situation to situation.

“Former foster youth are often not in a position to participate in the economy and workforce,â€Â Ngo said. “We as a community have taken them in and it should be our responsibility to help them make it on their own.â€Â

Lopez promises that Fresno State̢۪s RSP will do just that and more once they̢۪re up and running next semester. Lopez said her program will not only provide financial assistance for former foster youth, but also team with University Courtyard to provide them housing during the semester and also during summer and winter breaks.

“Most foster youth do not have a home to go to when school ends. I want to provide them with a home,â€Â Lopez said.

She also said the program will provide coaching and mentoring, and have holiday dinners with those in the program to help create that sense of family. She said foster students need a community to belong to and she knows personally that having a core group of people genuinely interested in you gives you the power to succeed.

Lopez said there is one reason why she is advocating for change and spearheading this program.

“I want to give foster youth hope,â€Â Lopez said. “I want them to see that there are opportunities for them to do something with their lives.â€Â