色情视频

When Jamilah Little arrived at 色情视频 in 2018, her goal was straightforward: get her degree and use education as a way to escape the instability of her upbringing. 

But two years into her studies, her and her peers鈥� lives were rocked by the COVID-19 pandemic, which upended traditional campus life as students shifted to remote studies for more than a year. 

Overwhelmed by the isolation, Little took a leave of absence from school, which deferred her dream and injected uncertainty into her future. She stayed in San Diego but admits she almost lost the drive to return to the campus 15 minutes away. 

鈥淭he social isolation, everything being virtual, I didn鈥檛 want to do that,鈥� Little said. 鈥淚 almost didn鈥檛 come back.鈥�

The operative word is almost. 

Buoyed by a strong will to see her educational goals through and encouragement from her 色情视频 support network, Little returned to campus in fall 2021 and graduated with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in psychology in fall 2023. She will receive her diploma at Commencement this week. 

鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 going to let all that hard work that I did go to waste,鈥� said Little, who is completing a 200-hour trauma-informed yoga certification and a nutritionist program. She wants to pursue yoga and nutrition for her career. 

鈥淓ven though college was challenging at times, I really enjoyed the experience.鈥�

One of the groups Little credits with getting her back on track was the 鈥� a program under the Office of Educational Opportunity Programs, Outreach and Success that provides support to students who are current or former foster youth or wards of the court, have been under legal guardianship or are unaccompanied homeless youth. 

Little was placed in the foster system at age 13, when she was removed from her mother鈥檚 home and taken in by her maternal grandmother, another stabilizing influence in her life. 

鈥淕uardian Scholars was one of my biggest encouragers, because that is their mission,鈥� Little said. 鈥淭hey were in my corner, and they let me know they were there for me, and with their encouragement and encouragement from my counselors and peers, I was able to finish what I started.鈥�

Little loved attending the monthly Scholars meetings, where she connected with people and learned more about foster youth resources, and the group鈥檚 mindfulness workshops, which helped her learn techniques to improve her health and well-being. 

Bryan Spencer, the program鈥檚 assistant director, said Little鈥檚 example highlights how profound the work of Guardian Scholars can be. 

鈥淲e feel privileged when students remain open for support and guidance,鈥� Spencer said. 鈥淲e are committed to each and every student and believe they not only have the ability to succeed, but to thrive at 色情视频 with the appropriate amount of guidance, motivation and know-how.

鈥淛amilah's experience is one example where a mutual partnership exists between a student and the program, and the outcome is beautiful. We have appreciated so many of these outcomes, but our squad always yearns for more,鈥� Spencer said. 

During her time on campus, Little said she forged lifelong bonds and found spaces that helped foster her sense of belonging on campus, such as the Student African American Sisterhood and the Afrikan Student Union. 

鈥淭hese spaces were safe spaces for me to thrive and receive supplemental support during my time on campus,鈥� said Little, who works as a youth leader and volunteered teaching students nutrition and health sciences at an independent pan-African school during the pandemic.

Little also felt a profound sense of ancestral duty to graduate.

鈥淲hen I got my diploma, it took a couple of weeks to really set in, and it hit me that I accomplished it,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 sent a picture of it to my grandmother, and she sent me a picture back celebrating. That meant the world to me, because I would think about my grandmother and my history and how education is pretty much the way out. My ancestors for a long time were denied the right to read. I felt like I couldn鈥檛 afford to be complacent or be a stereotype and let my ancestors down, or let God down, or myself down or my grandmother down.鈥�