During her first semester on campus, Charisma Farrington carried around a secret much heavier than the 30-pound sousaphone she played in the UConn Marching Band.<\/p>\n
There was a reason she couldn\u2019t go bowling or out to dinner every weekend, a reason she filled her waking hours with work hours \u2013 only she didn\u2019t share.<\/p>\n
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Then, when her roommates reunited with their parents for winter break, traveling home to be with family, she stayed behind and came to learn that\u2019s a long six weeks to spend by yourself. She realized she had a choice: keep going on alone or let others in.<\/p>\n
From about 3 years old, Farrington \u201926 (CLAS) was raised in the foster care system, shifting placements from Alabama to Massachusetts, sometimes with extended family, sometimes not. Now she was 18 and on her own, at UConn and determined to break the cycle of trauma she was born into.<\/p>\n
She grasped for resources that first year, she says, from filling out the FAFSA to turning a dorm room into a home without any stuff, no social workers to turn to, no co-signer on student loans.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter my first semester, I really thought I wasn\u2019t going to be able to register for classes again. I thought I was done,\u201d Farrington says. \u201cAnd then I ended up getting an emergency funding grant. I didn\u2019t apply for it, it just hit my fee bill and the charges went away. I thought immediately, \u2018Wow, I guess I\u2019m meant to be here.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Farrington, a psychological sciences<\/a> and political science<\/a> double major, is among the 4% of foster-experienced college students nationwide<\/a> to graduate with a four-year degree.<\/p>\n Even as Farrington readies to leave UConn, she aims with her project, \u201cFoster Care to Campus Care,\u201d which was funded by a Co-op Legacy Fellowship Change Grant<\/a> through the Office of Undergraduate Research<\/a>, to leave a breadcrumb trail for those who follow her.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t have a role model who graduated from college, who broke the generational trauma. At some point, I recognized there had to be more out there for me,\u201d Farrington says. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to end up like my parents. I wanted to create a life for myself and help other kids coming up behind me. That\u2019s why I went to college. I knew there was more out in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n With four siblings from her biological mother and three brothers from her biological father, the one of eight says that her foster placements oftentimes didn\u2019t last long, and, yes, there was abuse, a lack of general resources, even a lack of food. At one point she ended up in a coma, diagnosed with diabetes that had gone unnoticed and untreated.<\/p>\n Then came the day Farrington went from 17 to 18, child to adult, and suddenly she was expected to know and do everything.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was when life blew up in my face,\u201d she says. \u201cI decided to leave my placement because it wasn\u2019t conducive to my future, and I resolved to take care of myself from that point on. But I didn\u2019t realize I wasn\u2019t going to have the support I had when I was a minor, so I really had to grow up and learn how to do every single thing for myself.\u201d<\/p>\n Farrington made connections in UConn\u2019s Dean of Students Office<\/a>, Office of Student Financial Aid Services<\/a>, and other places around campus because there\u2019s no repository dedicated to acclimating and assisting foster-experienced students.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m very grateful to the University of Connecticut,\u201d Farrington says. \u201cThey\u2019ve given me so much, including the opportunity to create a resource for others like me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFoster Care to Campus Care\u201d is a brochure available in offices around UConn that details precisely where foster-experienced students can go for resources. Not only does it note things like the Husky Harvest<\/a> food pantry, but it also details basic tips and tricks that Farrington learned along the way.<\/p>\n \u201cStudents with foster care experience often qualify for accommodations due to trauma, instability, or mental health impacts,\u201d it reads in the Academic Accommodations section.<\/p>\n \u201cAttend events even if you go alone; staff will welcome you,\u201d it reads in the Tips for Building Community section. \u201cBuild relationships with staff who feel safe and supportive.\u201d<\/p>\n That last one is something Farrington did early on.<\/p>\nEarly Stumbles, But Still Determined<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Advice From Someone Who Went Through It<\/strong><\/h4>\n