More than 70 college graduates reflected on the challenges of their situation as former foster youth and first-generation students this month, while also celebrating their ultimate success of achieving a diploma with help from a local group.
On May 16, the fourth annual Ready to Succeed (RTS) Graduation Celebration took place at Chief Clubhouse in West Hollywood, praising RTS scholars that graduated from schools like UCLA, UC Berkeley, California State University Northridge (CSUN) and more. RTS, a Santa Monica-based nonprofit, launched in 2016 to meet the needs of those within the nation’s largest foster care system, filling the gaps in professional and personal development. Since launching with just five students, the program has expanded exponentially, securing paid summer internships during college for 94% of scholars.
One of those that gained invaluable internship experience was the event’s student speaker, Tamar Sebesta. A former foster youth who now has a child of her own, RTS helped Sebesta complete prestigious publicity internships with Lionsgate and NBCUniversal, aiding the young student even when she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do.
“Through this whole journey, RTS has [gotten me] there … they kind of helped guide me to find my path and find the right school and program,” Sebesta said.
Now set to graduate from CSUN in the winter, Sebesta added that RTS helped her “learn how to make decisions,” going from an unsure and nervous wreck to someone confident about their track in life.
“RTS is showing me the development skills that my parents didn’t teach me, and it’s really through them that I feel like I’ve become an [equipped] human being that’s ready to enter the workforce,” she said. “Not only that, just [to] be a good mom, be a good friend, be a good partner. I just feel like I’ve changed a lot over the past few years of being part of Ready to Succeed.”
Those dedicated to helping former foster youth navigate competitive industries showed their support to RTS throughout the event, such as RTS volunteer Jess Cagle, SiriusXM’s Chief Entertainment Anchor and former Editor In Chief of People Magazine. Cagle served as the emcee for the event, introducing speakers like Sebesta as well as author and advocate Andrew Bridge.
Bridge, who spent 11 years in Los Angeles County foster care, eventually graduated from Harvard Law School and became an advisor to senior federal and state officials on reforming the foster care system to meet the needs of families. He stated in his keynote speech that this is the “first time” that the RTS graduates will be going out into the world, and that they should embrace life’s endless possibilities.
“I am so happy for them, because this is an opportunity that is missing in so many children’s lives … I think they really do like [showing] other children, you can do this, this is possible,” Bridge said.
Toward the end of the ceremony, Los Angeles based giving platform The Change Reaction surprised scholars with a $128,000 gift to help launch their budding careers. RTS graduates will be going into fields ranging from biochemistry and computer engineering to political science and psychology. The gift was just one of the many gestures RTS Co-Founder Romi Lassally was thankful for.
“This event and all the work we do [at] Ready to Succeed wouldn’t be possible without all of you, our community of amazing supporters … it’s a team effort what we do, and because of all of you [we] create such a deep bench, so when we need something, anything, it’s there, because we need to make sure that our scholars can have what they need when [they] need it,” Lassally said. “It’s urgent, their lives and creative futures are on the line.”
Lassally added that the 2024 graduate crop will “become the inspiration” for their peers, with Sebesta saying that her inspirational speech to other scholars is “don’t run from” the RTS experience.
“I would say [to] new scholars, accept the change and keep going, even when it seems like it’s never-ending, it does get better, and you have people that care about you … by me saying this today and [someone] saying it to someone else, it’s just going to be a chain reaction of doing good and helping other people.”
For more information on the organization, visit readytosucceedla.org