Fostering the Future

Fostering the Future, part of First Lady of the United States Melania Trump’s Be Best initiative, is a nationwide network of colleges and universities preparing young people from foster care to become America’s next generation of leaders.

Support LSU’s Fostering the Future Scholars

Your gift to the MMR Fostering the Future Endowed Scholarship will support LSU students who have experienced foster care, providing the financial support they need to thrive in college and for a lifetime. 

From Foster Care To Future Leader

Fostering the Future Scholar Transforms Personal Experience Into Professional Ambition

For the first time since starting college, Desiree S.’s tuition is fully covered. When the good news came, the LSU junior didn’t think about grades or graduation. She thought about breathing. 

“Receiving the scholarship meant a lot to me because it was the first time I could just breathe,” said Desiree, one of the first recipients of a Fostering the Future Scholarship at LSU. “I can just breathe and not worry about what I am going to do.”

For many students, college stress comes from balancing coursework, jobs, and extracurricular activities. For students who, like Desiree, have experienced foster care, the challenges often run much deeper. Financial uncertainty, limited family support, and the transition to independence arrive all at once alongside great ambition to earn a college degree. 

Fostering the Future, established in 2021 by First Lady of the United States Melania Trump, is a nationwide network of 26 colleges and universities preparing young people from foster care to become America’s next generation of leaders. As part of the First Lady’s Be Best initiative, Fostering the Future expands access to higher education by providing these promising youth with the financial support to pursue a college degree. Nationally, just 3% of foster youth obtain a college degree. 

Earlier this year, LSU became a Fostering the Future partner school through the generosity of Zoom. As the new academic year kicked off this August, LSU Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management Emmett Brown connected with Desiree—intentionally over Zoom as a nod to the donor—to let her know that she is one of LSU’s first Fostering the Future Scholarship recipients. 

“I always had to figure out where can I pull money from,” she reflected, adding, “It’s very stressful because you’re trying to focus on academics, and then you have financial stuff like that, and then you have taking care of yourself.”  

Now, the scholarship not only covers her tuition but also the cost of books — through graduation.  

“The percentage of a foster youth being successful after their foster care case closes is not very high statistically,” she explained. “That was something that scared me because I didn’t want to go back to where I came from.” 

Originally from California, Desiree came to LSU looking for a fresh start. She shared, “I ultimately came out here because I wanted to do a whole rebrand, basically,” she said. “I wanted to forget about the trauma. Going to a different state was my goal, just to get away from it and just to start over again.” 

She grew up facing a kind of instability that could have deterred her dreams. There were periods of homelessness, separation from her parents, and years of uncertainty before entering foster care. Yet those experiences never diminished her ambitions. Now, she’s pursuing a degree in psychology, motivated by her own experiences and inspired to create opportunities for others. 

“I really want my degree to better myself and to not repeat what I’ve come from,” she said. “I just wanted to be better for myself and my future self and for my future kids. I just want to break the generational curse. I’m still finding myself. I’m still trying to break through from all the stuff that I was taught and just truly understanding who I am as a person.” 

“You never want to let your circumstances define who you’re going to be in the future. Just do what your heart tells you to do, and you’ll figure it out.”

When Desiree arrived at LSU, she found a place where she could begin defining herself on her own terms. She built community through LSU’s Pre-Scholars Academy, a summer bridge program that helps incoming freshmen transition to college life.  

Sometimes, during quiet moments on campus, she lets reality sink in about just how far she’s come. “When I’m on my scooter at night, I usually like to go on that ramp by the basketball stadium, and you can see the LSU sign. I just sit back and look at it, and I’m just like, ‘Wow. I’m really here.’” 

Desiree hopes to help other young people navigate the kinds of struggles she has experienced. Her own experiences with therapy and mental health support helped shape that calling. She believes young people deserve support systems that help them become the adults they want to be. 

“I feel like the most crucial points where a lot of kids need a safety net and a support system is in their teenage years. [It’s crucial because] you’re not a kid. You’re not an adult, but you’re going to become an adult.” 

Today, when she imagines graduation, she focuses on what that moment will represent: “My perseverance … just who Desiree has become. I definitely feel like the same Desiree who came to this university would not be the same as the one walking out of this university, and that’s a good feeling. You never want to let your circumstances define who you’re going to be in the future. Just do what your heart tells you to do, and you’ll figure it out.”