Steffanie
FSS Student Coordinator
Former FSS Student
Steffanie had a normal childhood. In her eyes, she had good parents. “There wasn’t any abuse,” she said, “We always had food, we went to school. We lived in hotels and with friends; the five of us were fine.” But what she didn’t know was that her parents were addicts. “They hid it well,” she said. Child Protective Services eventually deemed her parents unfit, and that was the beginning of the unravelling of her childhood, where she learned at age 8 that who she thought was her father was not her father and that her family would never be the same; that at age 9, she and her brother never lived with any of her younger siblings again.
Steffanie had a total of five placements in foster care. Although some of her experiences were ok, she had one family that abused her for over 5 years. “I was told I was ugly & dirty. I was treated as a slave, I had to sleep in the garage. “I had no self-esteem, “she said, “These people were wicked and thankfully the father ended up in jail.”
She went to foster placement number five, a big home in the country, with a big family of ten children, counting Steffanie. “I came from a horrible place, I didn’t have self-worth, I didn’t know love, but this family showed me love. Love for me and love for myself. They would tell me this to the point that I began to believe that I was worthy of love. I was afraid and nervous. It took time, but I eventually I healed and my brain transformed. I quit telling myself the lies and I turned to faith and that changed me.”
School was safe place for Steffanie. After graduating high school, she applied to several colleges and landed at Sacramento State. “I always loved learning, I had good grades, but I didn’t have the confidence, I didn’t think I was smart. My social worker encouraged me: “Steffanie, YES YOU ARE!” College went well for her and she excelled. She was living in the dorms, but every weekend she would go back to her foster home. “I didn’t want them to forget about me, so they picked me up every weekend and holidays and the kindness and love helped me to flourish and grow and heal in my faith.”
Steffanie found Fostering Success through the Guardian Scholars at Sac State. When asked what FSS has done for her she said: “emotional and financial support and scholarships, but the most important to me was the constant commitment with my advocate and how much he cared. I remember getting a phone call in the middle of summer from my advocate. Who does that? It just shows how much they care.”
Steffanie now works part time for Fostering Success as a student coordinator. “I love that I can share and relate to the students. I say “US,” because I’ve been there and we are on the same wave length. I applaud their successes, encourage and sometimes grieve. I’m real with them. I’ve come full circle.”
Other Noteworthy accomplishments:
Steffanie was the keynote student speaker at Sacramento State graduation where over 12,000 people heard her speak in 2016.
Steffanie was asked to talk on The Today Show discussing the support of children’s rights in foster care.
Steffanie was also a keynote speaker for foster children’s rights in New York City.
Family forever…Steffanie was officially adopted by her last foster family at the age of 22 after four years.