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| Staff ready to assist foster youth at College & Career Day |
Scores of foster youth toured Grossmont College on April 11
as part of College & Career Day, aimed at showing the teens the
opportunities that await them through higher education.
The event included workshops and seminars with Grossmont-Cuyamaca
Community College District staff and 70 foster youth from around San Diego
County. Most of the foster teens are living in group homes.
“We bring them on campus so they can get acquainted with
college and show them the services that are available to help to help them,”
said Pam Fleming, a Cuyamaca College financial aid advisor who also serves as
the school’s Foster Youth Success Initiative liaison and has worked tirelessly
with foster youth over the past decade.
The event, held annually, is rotated among the various
community colleges in San Diego County. Speakers at the Grossmont College event
included Dr. Michelle Lustig, manager of the San Diego County Office of
Education’s Foster Youth and Homeless Education Services Program; Michael Copenhaver,
Grossmont College Financial Aid Director; and a former foster youth.
The day began at 8 a.m. with a registration and breakfast at
the Griffin Center. It ended in the afternoon with a College Fair at which
students could learn more about their educational options.
“These are such sweet kids,” Fleming said. “It’s not their
fault they’re in foster care. We should do all we can to help them succeed.”
