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Show FEATURE 8 n r V . v" r c a M "!HhMP4. 4h& U. V Editor-in-Chi- IK A- X :rT V If any of these pieces have I thank these students for their courage and commitment to sharing their experiences with us and the broader community. Please take time to read these submissions and consider them further. Each piece sheds light on a different topic here among the Westminster - M fcA . inspired students, faculty or anyone in the community to write their own Are You Listening submission, we have opened our online collection to include all submissions at any time. Please submit pieces to r s very year, thousands of freshmen across the United States begin their college education. The 'majority of us know how exhilarating On an ending note, a more personal note: please be mindful, compassionate and open to learning. j distance from authority and the freedom of independence is. But for students without family support, growing up comes at a staggering cost. These students are foster youth who are released from state custody (age-ou- t) at 18, often after enduring abuse from a system that claimed it would give them a better life. They have no one to ask for help - for enrolling in classes, fixing an alternator, or simply getting some sound advice. They are less likely to finish college due to misconceptions and economic barriers. The state of Utah created new positions to address those problems. The big picture is changing but more could be done on this campus in terms of aware- r S' A- - Brown Eyes NORKA NISHIJIMA Nunca te rindes explained my mother as I first stepped onto soil, leaving behind a piece of me in my home country. ness. According to the Huntington Post, 5 thousand young adults age out of foster care in the United States per year and only 2 willm graduate college. The purpose of this article is to identify the barriers between this hidden population and indusivity in obtaining higher education. Understanding the obstacles allows administrators, faculty, and fellow classmates to be aware of what these students face - and how they contribute to diversity on campus. Discrimination begins with misconceptions. A lot of people think foster kids did something to deserve their position. Those folks Nunca te rindes explained my mother when I realized that my hair did not match the gold locks of Barbie. 20-2- Nunca te rindes explained my mother when I was made fun of because my skin did not sparkle like the snow on a sunny day. Nunca te rindes explained my mother as I realized that the only thing that made me unique, to people, was not my brains but the color of my skin. Nunca te rindes explained my mother as she worked late nights so that I could carry out the American dream. V f Nunca te rindes explained my mother when I realized that even though this place is big, finding similar MEs is hard. Nunca te rindes explained my mother as I noticed that because of my background I had to work twice as hard to show I was worthy. r; A i Nunca te rindes explained my mother as I wondered why few looked like me in school. Nunca te rindes explained my mother as my brown eyes shed tears - r V i 7 ,s CADENCE KENNOR ; a - Ul of hurt for my fellow people that would not have the opportunities I did. Nunca te rindes explained my mother as I walked on stage for my high school graduation, holding the hands of my parent's dreams of being successful Nunca te rindes explained my mother when I got accepted to college after she didnt get the opportunity to do so. are wrong. J.B. Won, a senior at Cedar City high school who is originally from Seoul, shared some of the ways these misconceptions affect his enrollment in college. I feel that whenever someone in foster care has to apply or send letters of recommendation, high school teachers judge the student and refuse or write a letter that isnt helpful. They think of us foster youth as a different species and that we should be treated differently. Letters of recommendation are critical for an aspiring freshman who sees g himself in computer science and His insight brings with it a disturbing realization: Foster parents can choose whether or not to help with applying to school and navigating the enrollment process, but they choose not to. Its not their kid so who Nunca te rindes I told MYSELF looking into my brown eyes in the mirror, because after all your work its time to be heard. double-majorin- pre-me- Never Giving up means opening doors for the soft spoken to scream, and for the brown eyes to state Nunca te rindes. j cares? he adds. I K it jai What about us? community. These submissions are from students who have lived experiences here at Westminster H L- A Wrftrfiiiv ef College and beyond. iHrtuthU , Editorial Note from the PS vs Discriminatory barriers arc only part of the problem. When I asked J.B. about other challenges, he mentioned that it is difficult to access money for application fees. How can organizational barriers be addressed? I reached out to Britton Meyer, who is originally from Riverton and graduated from Weber State Uniin psyversity after double-majorichology and criminal justice. Britton works as a Higher Education Navigator with the Utah Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS). The position is relatively new most of the kids she advises start college in spring 2016. She told me that the job was created to provide support for youth transitioning to 'X. ng r fc t y college. Britton does much more than answering questions about higher education. Some of the most helpful things she does are surprisingly simple. I provide transportation to meetings with college officials. I have also noticed that I have been the most help to them foster youth as a contact. This means that she helps them fill out go-betwe- it t J A t en applications and communicate with program staff for certain types of funding, which can cover application fees too. Higher Education Navigators are in a unique position to assist clients by I understanding the barriers they youth have already encountered in custody, Britton. Like you, when President Steve Morgan said he would like to see more students from a certain group enrolling at Westminster, my first response was that I would like to see more students from my upbringing here as well. Interacting with admission and financial says aid officials here gave me the impression that they werent accustomed to working with students from my background. I hesitate to share my story with classmates because I doubt theyll understand. Because of that, I consider it to be a diversity and inclusion issue. Until students who age-ohave a more supportive path here, I might be the only one of my kind on campus. I cant change our enrollment demographics but catalyzing awareness is within my power. Areyou listening ? i r : 7 ut d. i |