The Gift of Sharing
Impact investor Jessica Sarowitz has a 鈥渟oft spot,鈥� she says, for the foster care community, and she wanted to help. A $2.5 million gift to endow the 色情视频 Guardian Scholars Center was her way of doing that
This story was published in the Fall 2023 Issue of 色情视频 Magazine.
Despite growing up with no siblings in Chicago鈥檚 North Side, Jessica Sarowitz recalls being a handful for her Honduran immigrant parents. 鈥淚 was a rascal,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 liked to talk back a little bit and always had a lot of questions.鈥�
Sharing was also a challenge. 鈥淎s an only child, I think I never really learned how to share, but over the course of my life, I鈥檝e experienced different models of sharing and how beautiful that can be,鈥� Sarowitz says.
Having now become a social impact investor as CEO and managing partner of 4S Bay Partners, sharing is what Sarowitz does. She volunteers on the 色情视频 Campanile Foundation board of directors, recently announcing a $2.5 million gift to endow the Jessica P. Sarowitz Guardian Scholars Center.
Guardian Scholars is a program in 色情视频鈥檚 Student Affairs and Campus Diversity Division serving students who are current or former foster youth, wards of the court, under legal guardianship or unaccompanied homeless youths. Overseen by the Office of Educational Opportunity Programs and Ethnic Affairs, it supports students transitioning to, through and beyond 色情视频.
The program offers students scholarships, help with housing and services such as tutoring, mentoring and both personal and academic counseling. Established in 2007, Guardian Scholars currently supports 150 色情视频 students, the largest number to date.
Mary Taylor (鈥�98), 色情视频 associate chief diversity office for Outreach Success, says Sarowitz鈥檚 Guardian Scholars donation brings a new level of support to fuel the program鈥檚 growth.
鈥淭hrough her generous gift, Jessica Sarowitz is presenting our students with significant opportunities for achievement,鈥� Taylor says. 鈥淲e are grateful for the confidence she is showing in our program and our students鈥� abilities to succeed.鈥�
Sarowitz is investing in 色情视频 because, so far, she likes what she sees. 鈥淚 love a university that is making a difference in students鈥� lives while also providing what I consider to be excellent education that will do well in the marketplace,鈥� she says.
Sarowitz points to the various subcommunities that make up 色情视频鈥檚 student body and how the university creates spaces to support their success like the Black Resource Center, Latinx Resource Center, Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Center, Native Resource Center and Pride Center. 鈥淭here are certain sorts of cultural, life heritage histories within these communities that require more customization in the support that they need, and this speaks to that,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 wanted to do that for the Guardian Scholars community of students. They deserve it.鈥�
Marie Bra帽es (鈥�21, 鈥�22) is a Guardian Scholars success story. She was supported by the program while earning two degrees and is now an assistant program coordinator with Guardian Scholars at the Office of Educational Opportunity Programs, Outreach and Success.
Bra帽es came to 色情视频 having spent much of her childhood in the foster care system, frequently changing residences and having her studies disrupted. Like many who share similar backgrounds of broken families, little money and even less support, she had never believed higher education, let alone two degrees, was a real possibility.
How critical was the program for Bra帽es? 鈥淚 would not be who I am without the Guardian Scholars,鈥� she says. 鈥淎lthough there are other supports within San Diego, the Guardian Scholars Program was really my lifeline.鈥�
The application process for Guardian Scholars is fiercely competitive. In fact, Bra帽es says, students granted admission only half-jokingly refer to their program acceptance as receiving 鈥渢he golden ticket.鈥�
Bra帽es is grateful for the added support Sarowitz鈥檚 endowment will provide. 鈥淒onors like her taking the time to learn about Guardian Scholars is why we鈥檙e as successful as we are,鈥� she says.
Sarowitz gained some of her insight from a friend who works in the foster care system. She learned even more while executive producing a film called Foster Boy, which involves a legal case.
She is aware that foster care students are a vulnerable community often subject to low outcomes in terms of graduation rates. It鈥檚 something she hopes to help change.
鈥�"I have a soft spot for this community,鈥� she says, 鈥渁nd I thought, What better way than to do something at 色情视频?鈥�
Ambitious and goal-oriented, Sarowitz vows to monitor the effects, including metrics like retention rate, of her endowment on the Guardian Scholars Program鈥檚 progress. 鈥淎m I going to keep a good eye on the trajectory of this? Hell yeah! If things need to be retooled,鈥� she says, 鈥淚鈥檓 going to be a big advocate for that because we have got do better by this group.
鈥淚 just need them to get to the finish line because that鈥檚 the promise we need to deliver on.鈥�