Savasia was placed in foster care early in her high school years. At a time when she wanted to focus on her education, graduating, and just being a typical high schooler, she suddenly found herself emotionally overwhelmed by everything happening to her. Over the course of her time in care, she had to manage huge changes in her life and her support structure. Her social workers changed frequently, as did her therapists, and every time she sought help from a new person, she had to tell her story again, reliving her trauma and the challenges she had experienced. 

“It was hard to learn how to cope,” Savasia says, “I lost focus for a while – had bad grades, was acting out. But I knew I had to turn myself around and focus on school.” Her determination paid off and she graduated from high school. At 18, she found Pivotal and entered the post-secondary coaching program.  

When she decided to move to Arkansas to attend West Valley Community College, she was happy to learn that her coach, Brian could continue to work with her remotely. Finally, a consistent support she could count on. At a time when everything seemed uncertain, having her Pivotal coach by her side helped her adjust to a new school in a new place. 

Savasia wants to be a social worker, so she enrolled in Sociology classes. With Brian’s help, she began mapping out a plan for her future, focusing on her goals and building a step-by-step plan to get there. But she soon found herself facing an entirely new and unexpected challenge – she was pregnant.  

“When we first met, she had a whole plan for her future,” says Brian, “Her pregnancy changed that whole trajectory, but she’s so resilient. She just kept going because she knew she wanted to build a better life for herself, and her daughter.” Savasia drew from the strength she had discovered in the previous few years. She worked with Brian to update her plan so she could still achieve her goals while raising her daughter, trying to stay flexible and embrace the unknown. Today, her daughter is 9 months old, and Savasia is still in school, and working a part-time retail job to make ends meet.  

Pivotal was even able to help out with some Emergency Assistance Funding when she ran into financial struggles. Savasia hopes to transfer to the University of Arkansas to complete a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and go on to grad school. When considering what advice she would give to other young people from foster care, Savasia says, “Don’t let obstacles get in the way of your goals. It may feel like the end of the world at the moment, but it’ll get easier over time if you keep at it.”  

This holiday season, you can help us continue to support young people like Savasia to build the life they want for themselves and their children. Please consider making an end-of-year donation to Pivotal today! 

DONATE NOW