How I Make My Mark
Meet Sheila, a Student Advisory Board member who is making her mark! She asks.....how will YOU #MakeYourMarkFSM?
Meet Lori, a Student Advisory Board Member who is making her mark by helping others
I have been so inspired over the last month by FSM staff, students, and network partners who have shared their #MakeYourMarkFSM photos on social media! (It’s not too late to post your photos! More info available in this blog entry) It is so exciting and uplifting to see the passion so many of you have for working with young people who have experienced time in foster care. Lori Johnson, one of FSM’s Student Advisory Board members, is one of those people that inspires me because of how she puts her passion into action. I am honored to feature Lori on Brittany’s Blog. Welcome,…
Reflections on FSM’s first ever Student Advisory Board
I would like to welcome a brilliant colleague of mine, Tamara Toutant, as a guest writer for Brittany's Blog. I have had the privilege of working with Tamara for almost two years and have witnessed her passion and professionalism first hand. As a key player in FSM's Student Advisory Board, Tamara is "making her mark" by contributing her skills and energy to the SAB team. I am confident her words will inspire and excite you. Welcome, Tamara!
Make Your Mark on the lives of young people who have been through foster care!
#MakeYourMarkFSM: How are you making your mark on the lives of young people who have experienced time in foster care?
Do kids in foster care have reason to hope for a better life?
"It's not always a quick (or smooth) transition from one end of the "hope spectrum" to the other. Similarly, it's not a simple jump from thinking "I have no idea how I'm going to get through this" to life being smooth sailing."
Sharing My Experience in foster care: What I’ve learned (so far)
"Navigating both the professional and academic portions of the child welfare system as someone who was in foster care has been interesting, frustrating, exhausting, and yet extremely rewarding."
What I wish I would have known when graduating from college
"Regardless of how much support we're given as undergrad students, we will still fail to succeed if ill-equipped to pusue career or higher education after graduating from undergrad."
What Foster Care Feels Like, A Metaphor
"You were born when you emerged from the dirt, your roots securing you to the ground."
To Professionals Working with Young People who have Experienced Foster Care
"You can read about a place or person, or see a picture, or read their case file, but that doesn't do life -- or them, or you -- justice."
Health Care Isn’t Always Easy
"Being uninsured is expensive"
Standing Still
"In the midst of Mother's and Father's Day, it can be really difficult to feel at peace with my life, my family, and my history."
Dear College-Freshman Version of Myself
"Dear College-Freshman Version of Myself, Before you read any further, I need you to know that you're going to be okay."
It’s a Journey: Reflections on My Biological Family
"I find solace in knowing that everyone is living their own journey, from foster care or not. No family is perfect, even those that appear to be."
“There’s No Place Like Home”
"For many young adults from foster care, the idea we have of the "home" we grew up in doesn''t always feel loving, welcoming, or - most importantly - safe. "
Waiting on Grad School….
Brittany has applied to Graduate School at the University of Michigan's School of Social Work. In this blog, she bravely shares her news, and all of the ups and downs that have gone along with this process.