3/21/2001
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Less than 10 percent of young people who leave foster care at age 18 attend college.
Michigan State University is aiming to change that startling statistic, beginning with a new scholarship program that combines financial assistance with on-campus social support and mentoring.
The Foster Care Youth Endowed Scholarship Program will be administered by the MSU School of Social Work, the Office of Admissions and Scholarships, and the Office of Financial Aid. It will provide a limited number of tuition-and-living-expense scholarships to incoming MSU freshmen who have spent some part of their childhood or adolescence in a court-ordered foster care placement in Michigan.
Recipients of the scholarship will be matched with MSU alumni who have offered to serve as mentors. In addition to providing encouragement and advice, the mentors will help the students arrange for housing over holiday and spring/summer breaks and help them find other sources of financial support, including employment.
"The foster care experience introduces challenges for young people who have already experienced a number of significant losses and separations in their lives," said Gary Anderson, director of the MSU School of Social Work. "These challenges often have the effect of discouraging talented young people from considering post-secondary education, sometimes because they have low self-confidence, sometimes because they lack the financial resources."
The program is the brainchild of Rob Henry, 36, an MSU staff member who serves as associate director of annual giving programs for University Development, and Susan Emfinger, 39, a former special gifts programs officer for University Development.
"We appreciate the commitment of Mr. Henry and Ms. Emfinger to make a difference in the lives of children through their generous gift to MSU," said Provost Lou Anna K. Simon.
Henry lived with a foster care family in Tennessee following the death of his mother when he was 4 years old. His outstanding skills in speech and debate while in high school led to a full scholarship at Murray State University, where he studied communication. He later earned a master's degree in community and public relations from Eastern Michigan University. Before joining University Development, he worked as a resident and complex director in Residence Life.
His reasons for establishing the scholarship are simple.
"It's important to give options to foster children, and this was one way I could give back to the system that did so much for me as a child," he said." If you can imagine being moved two or three times in your lifetime, you can imagine the low self-esteem foster children grow up with.
"Somewhere, someone has to take an interest in these children and help them rebuild their sense of self-worth. This scholarship and mentoring program has the potential to do that."
Henry, a licensed foster parent, notes that MSU's outreach mission and commitment to making people matter were a natural fit with his desire to help foster children.
"When I first started at MSU, I remember reviewing President McPherson's 'Guiding Principles' and appreciated the commitment that MSU had to advancing the community. Those principles have always stuck with me."
Emfinger lived with a foster care family as a teen-ager and credits her foster mother with encouraging her to attend Michigan State, where she studied French, was a member of the Honors College and became a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
"Children need role models at crucial points in their lives, and I'm grateful that my foster parents were there to step into that role for me," she said.
"The MSU program is particularly important because Michigan, unlike a number of other states, does not offer four-year college tuition assistance to foster children who have 'aged out' of the system," Anderson said.
Individuals interested in contributing to the Foster Care Youth Endowed Scholarship Program can call the MSU School of Social Work at (517) 355-7515. Prospective students can call 355-0333 for more information.