The 2nd annual Ready to Succeed Graduation Celebration took place at the Griffin Club in Los Angeles on Wednesday morning bringing together a passionate group of new college graduates and the community of supporters who helped them get there.
LOS ANGELES, June 20, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The 2nd annual Ready to Succeed Graduation Celebration took place at the Griffin Club in Los Angeles on Wednesday morning bringing together a passionate group of new college graduates and the community of supporters who helped them get there.
Ready to Succeed (RTS) is a career and personal development nonprofit that empowers foster youth and first-generation college students to graduate, launch successful careers and reach their full potential. Los Angeles County is home to the nation's largest foster care system where only 3% of foster youth will graduate from a four-year university program and be positioned for career-track jobs. In response to this unmet need, RTS launched in 2016 and has since changed the script for 300 young people.
"Rather than ending the many struggles faced by our scholars, college brings a new set of challenges. As a result, these students are far more likely to drop out than their peers, saddled with debt, without a degree, and with limited earning potential," says Romi Lassally, Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of RTS.
This year's signature Graduation Ceremony included distinguished speakers such as Emmy Award-winning journalist and reporter for KTLA, Christina Pascucci, and Jarl Mohn, President Emeritus of National Public Radio (NPR) and creator of E! Entertainment. Guests came together to celebrate the 2022 RTS graduating scholars who have navigated and overcome significant barriers to get to college.
Scholars who complete RTS programming have gained skills, professional networks, valuable experiences, and confidence. As a result, 90% graduate college in 4.5 years, 92% secure strong entry-level jobs within six months of graduation and 95% say they can envision a bright future for the first time in their lives.
RTS 2022 Student Honoree, Reeves Gift, shared with the audience: "I learned the clumsy facts of life around 10 years old. There were things that weren't meant for me, and things meant for other people. Families were for other people. Being able to sleep with both eyes closed was for other people," said Gift. "So, it truly made sense that I believed college was a 'thing' done by and for other people."
"Through RTS, I learned that a secure future was not something I was walled out from," he continued. "With their help, I've interned at places like HBO, Dreamworks, and Netflix. I learned that system-affected young people and people in foster care shouldn't have to sort life between what they are given, and what is meant for others. Opportunity isn't something that we should be barred from because of the circumstances of our backgrounds."
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ABOUT READY TO SUCCEED
Ready to Succeed (RTS) is a career and personal development nonprofit that empowers foster and first-generation college students to graduate college, launch successful careers and reach their full potential. Over six years ago, RTS co-founders Pat McCabe and Romi Lassally observed that no organization existed to close gaps in career knowledge, access, and resources faced by former foster youth in Los Angeles County, home to the nation's largest foster care system. As a result, these youth faced the worst outcomes among their peers: 50% will be unemployed or underemployed, 29% will be unable to pay rent, and 42% will be convicted of a crime. Only 3% of foster youth will graduate from a four-year university and be positioned for career-track jobs. Believing that young people could thrive with the right resources, relationships, and opportunities, our co-founders launched Ready to Succeed in 2016.
Media Contact
Shannon de Laat, The Virtue Project, 1 917-434-6576, [email protected]
SOURCE The Virtue Project
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