Pennerman

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 8, 2008
Media Contact: George Cagala, (760) 750-4012

Foster Youth Defies the Odds and Earns a Baccalaureate Degree

As a foster youth, Henry Pennerman’s odds of graduating from college were pretty slim. At the age of 16, he legally separated himself from his father, who had checked into a San Diego homeless shelter, leaving Henry without support.  (His mother had separated from the father when Henry was just two and was living in the San Francisco Bay area.) Foster care was the only sound option.

Despite the odds – only about 1.5 percent of foster youth continue their education after leaving foster care and graduate from college – Henry will be among more than 2,500 students graduating from California State University San Marcos this month. But that’s just the beginning. Armed with a bachelor’s degree in sociology, Henry aims to continue his education, pursuing a graduate degree at Cal State San Marcos in hopes of turning sociology into a career.

Of his experience at CSUSM, Henry says it was “too positive. It’s the best set up I could have had.”
In addition to financial aid, he credits the support and guidance received from a number of professors and administrators for helping him achieve his goals.

Most of the credit, of course, goes  to Henry himself.  He has been very active in campus life, serving in the Emerging Leaders Program, as a panelist with the College Connection conference that works with foster youth planning to attend college, and as a member of the ACE Scholars advisory council--all while working as a student assistant in Instructional and Information Technology Services.

Henry acknowledges that he is a “really determined individual,” and one day hopes to make a difference in the lives of others who face difficult obstacles. 

That may already have begun: perhaps inspired by Henry, his mother recently returned to school to finish her degree.

Background:

With nearly 6,222 children in foster care in San Diego County, CSUSM and San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) have taken a significant first step towards increasing the academic success rate of this under-represented group.

On March 26, 2008, CSUSM President Karen Haynes and HHSA Director Jean Shepard signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that guarantees foster youth admission to CSUSM if they meet CSU admissions standards. The agreement is the first of its kind serving all foster youth county-wide.

To prepare for their transition into university life, CSUSM also established a program specifically to help foster youth – the ACE Scholars Services.

“Among our goals is to help them focus on their future, and to make sure they know they have choices,” said Jim Mickelson, ACE Scholars director.

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