Celebrating the Graduations of Our Youth and Family Services Residents

Celebrating the Graduations of Our Youth and Family Services Residents

At Cumberland Youth and Family Services, every success story is a reason to celebrate. Recently, three of our youth and family services residents graduated from high school and we couldn’t be prouder of how far they have come on their journey. Each of these graduates have worked hard to go beyond the requirements of their programs, and we believe that deserves to be celebrated. Here is everything you need to know about celebrating the graduations of our youth and family services residents:

A Single Mom from Our Family Residential Program

We had a single-mother, Jada, in our Family Residential Program receive her high school diploma this spring. It was really important to her that she received her high school diploma instead of her GED, so we worked to find a program where she could get her high school diploma online. Jada earned her diploma with honors, maintained a B average with four children, while working in the middle of a pandemic. Since graduation, she has already started classes in a medical instrument sterilization program, which will guarantee that she never has to work a minimum wage job again.

We are so proud of how far she has come personally and professionally during her time at Cumberland Youth and Family Services. We held an all-campus graduation ceremony for Jada on Thursday, May 27 to celebrate her massive accomplishment. We invited all of our residents to help us celebrate, and she was able to invite her friends and family. Her four children and her father were in attendance, each with a smile on their face and a new sense of inspiration to make meaningful change in their own lives.

Two Graduations for Youth in Foster Care

We also had two of our youth in foster care residents graduate from high school this spring. With only 50% of youth in foster care receiving their high school diplomas on average, it is a really big deal that both young men were able to put in the work hard to fulfill their dedication to completing high school. They were so motivated to graduate that they advanced through their credits faster than previously scheduled, creating opportunities that may not have been possible otherwise.

Both of these young men are moving on to the next chapter of their lives with big plans for creating meaningful lives for themselves. One of our graduates is going on to a prestigious program at a local university, while the other is going on to full-time work at his place of employment.

On Friday, May 28, we held a graduation ceremony for these two young men. We combined this graduation with a ceremony for our staff who had graduated with bachelor’s or master’s degrees as well. We invited our entire campus to the ceremony in order to illustrate that anything is possible if you put your mind to it and put in the work to make it happen.

One of our staff provided the keynote address at the ceremony and gave an inspiring speech about how we can all do things that are unexpected. It was a beautiful testament for honoring our residents’ dedication, their perseverance and their ability to overcome all of their challenges to accomplish something so meaningful.

Why These Graduations Are So Important

We celebrate each of these graduations to the fullest-extent because we know how big of an accomplishment it is for someone with their challenges. Youth in foster care are far more likely to change schools than the average student, resulting in challenges such as needing to meet an advanced learning curve and behavioral issues. Many youths in foster care have experienced some form of trauma, resulting in over 40% with educational difficulties and only 50% ever graduating from high school. In fact, dropout rates are 3 times higher for youth in foster care than other low-income students.

Each of these graduates have accomplished a goal that many others with their challenges do not accomplish. We could not be prouder of the hard work and dedication that got them where they are today, and where it is sure to take them in the future. We work hard to ensure that each of our residents are presented with the same opportunity and we hope to be celebrating many more graduations next year. Want to learn more about how you can help us support our youth and family services to make an impact in your community? Check out our blog today!