Mary Brown's Story
Graduating high school is something that many foster kids dream of. It is something that people from permanent families believe is given to them. Most are forced into going to school daily and are given a diploma when it is all done. This is not the case for many foster kids. By the age of 19, only 57% of foster youth have graduated high school. Even fewer ever graduate college, the statistic being at only 5%.
Mary Brown overcame this challenge. One of her most prized possessions is her high school diploma. She believes that it shows that she has fared better than many of those from a similar background. Graduating high school is a big achievement, but Mary Brown is not done. Now she wants to graduate college.
“It’s not easy coming out of foster care,” she said. “It’s not like you can say to your parents, ‘Say, can you pay my rent for six months while I figure out what I want to do?’ ”
Brown was placed into foster care just after she was born. She turned to reading as her main interest in school. Brown was not the perfect student. She would start trouble when she was bored because she finished her work so fast. She ended up moving when she was 12 because her foster care situation was not working. She moved around New York City, spending time in every borough.
Her senior year she learned that she did not have enough credits to graduate on time due to her multiple transfers. Because of this, she transferred again, this time to John V. Lindsay Wildcat Charter School. It offered a curriculum that would allow her to receive enough credits to graduate on time. She graduated in 2006 and then moved to an independent living program for young adults shifting out of foster care. She briefly attended college, but did not find it stimulating enough.
The Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement helped her settle into her own apartment, where she is currently living. She tried college again, but was too exhausted when it came time for class that she dropped out again. Not being able to pay her heating bills in 2014 led to Brown feeling as though her life was stuck. She was referred to the Community Service Society. This agency gave Brown money for food, a monthly metrocard, and enough money to pay the balance due on her utility bill.
She was also encouraged to enroll in college again. Mary Brown is enrolled at Bronx Community College, and is expected to earn her associate degree in 2015.
The story of Mary Brown shows the struggles foster youth face when growing up and attending high school. She struggled to graduate due to her constant moving and inability to transfer credits. It also shows the struggles faced when aging out of the system. She was not able to live on her own and support herself at first. When she did start to live on her own, money became a problem due to the lack of a college degree. Mary Brown also shows foster youth overcoming this struggle. She is attending college and will be able to make a better life for herself in the future.
Here is the link to the full story : http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/18/nyregion/a-childhood-in-foster-care-didnt-diminish-her-dreams.html?_r=0
