Fostering Futures

As former foster youth, Sabrina Conner and Shirel Omidi have faced numerous hardships, which they are overcoming through their own resilience and support at Santa Monica College.

Sabrina Conner (L) and Shirel Omidi (R)

Shirel Omidi at home

Sabrina Conner

Shirel Omidi, a relaxed moment

Sabrina Conner

Their respective experiences before and while in California’s foster care system motivated Sabrina Conner and Shirel Omidi to become champions for children’s rights. And Santa Monica College is helping empower them and other foster youth on their journeys through the support programs NextUp and Guardian Scholars.

Established with funding from the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, NextUp provides academic support, financial aid, career counseling, wellness services and more to SMC students from foster care backgrounds. The initiative integrates with SMC’s Guardian Scholars program to provide a full range of services for foster youth students. The NextUp/Guardian Scholars combination is part of SMC’s comprehensive Extended Opportunity Programs and Services and Foster Service Support Programs aimed at helping all students overcome any social or economic hurdles to college success.

“SMC has so many amazing programs and pathways for students to meet their goals — and, for me, one of the pathways was Guardian Scholars,” says Shirel, who graduated high school early but came to campus without any previous college advising. “I had no idea what credits were or how to enroll in classes,” she says. So Shirel was grateful to have counselors who patiently explained everything she needed to know for her academic journey.

But that’s really just the beginning, Shirel notes, “because they’ll also help with housing, meal assistance and finding a job if you need it. I can’t think of a single thing they can’t help with, really.”

For Sabrina, who wants to be an attorney protecting children’s interests and welfare, that help included putting her in touch with SMC’s Law Pathway program. The program provides underrepresented students with a leg up in future legal careers through services including scholarships, networking and mentoring, as well as priority admissions review at USC, UCLA and other highly ranked law schools.

“I thought that sounded perfect, so I filled out the application,” Sabrina says. And she quickly gained acceptance into the competitive program. “I wrote about my life experiences, and how I’m meant to be a lawyer for children.”

She is considering future career options such as working in a district attorney’s office in children’s court or as an attorney for minors caught up in the juvenile justice system — or perhaps going back and forth between the two functions. Sabrina would also like to write a book about her life and hopes to open a group home one day.

Fresh Starts

NextUp and Guardian Scholars fill a vast need. Nearly 60,000 children are currently in California’s foster care system, many of whom were escaping abuse, neglect or poverty. Up to 25 percent experience homelessness after leaving care, putting them at risk of further trauma. College offers the avenue to a better life — as long as students can access the resources to take that path.

“National research shows that, while a postsecondary credential can greatly enhance the likelihood of foster youth making more successful transitions and increase their chances for personal fulfillment, the obstacles and barriers they face are immense,” observed SMC Superintendent/President Dr. Kathryn E. Jeffery in a press release unveiling NextUp.

Sabrina and Shirel are open about the challenges they’ve endured. Sabrina’s father died when she was little, and her mother abused her. Going to live with a cousin provided no solace because she turned out to be abusive as well. Feeling she had no choice, Sabrina ran away just before turning 12 — only to get arrested for shoplifting some food as hunger gnawed at her.

“From there, I just bounced through the system,” Sabrina says. In time, she even regarded juvenile hall as her home. “It’s where I was comfortable and had people who cared about me,” she recalls.

By 16, after numerous placements in group homes and encounters with the justice system, Sabrina became a ward of the court. By 19, she was homeless. Today, though, she supports herself as an entrepreneur while maintaining a GPA high enough to qualify her for membership in the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. “I’ve done very well for myself,” she says. “I do not receive public assistance, nor am I in public housing.”

Shirel considers herself among the “lucky ones” in her foster care experience. “I had a home to go back to,” she explains. Still, she wanted to help foster youth even before becoming one. For her bat mitzvah at age 12, she chose working with foster children as her community project.

The insights Shirel gained into the system at that young age helped her navigate the situation of having divorced parents. She also gained the courage to speak up about how she didn’t feel safe in her living situation, which led to a yearlong trial in family court. Even so, she felt like her voice was going unheard in the custody process. “So I ran away and called the police,” she recalls.

The result was only supposed to be a single night in foster care, but her time in the system ended up stretching to more than two years. Finally, she was placed in a home where she felt safe. “God bless my foster mom,” she says. Later, she was able to live with her grandparents.

“But not every kid has that option,” Shirel adds.

Fulfilling Potential

Now, with a resilience forged by their pasts, Sabrina and Shirel are focusing on their futures and helping others. Shirel, who earned her associate’s degree in communications at SMC, is deciding which university she want to transfer to for her bachelor’s.

Shirel then plans to become a real estate agent and start her own business. With the profits, she will start an organization preparing foster children for success when they transition out of the system. She also wants to amplify their voices, so they feel listened to in ways that she didn’t.

“I’ve been a part of projects that supply foster kids with school supplies or clothing — and that’s great, but those are just materials,” Shirel says. “Instead, I want to provide kids with real, out-of-system experiences to show them the options they have in life, because we live in an amazing country where we can choose our careers and the lives we want to have.”

Meanwhile, Sabrina continues pursuing her SMC classes and plans to transfer to UCLA on her way to law school. That choice will enable her to take advantage of SB 307, the California law passed in 2023 that covers tuition and related expenses for foster youth attending a University of California, Cal State University — or community colleges in the state such as SMC.

“It’s been amazing to know that I have the support at SMC to keep learning,” Sabina says.

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