Zack: From Student to Peer Leader

Stepping Up to a New School Year - A Message from Pivotal CEO, Elise Cutini

As a new school year starts, I find myself not only reflecting on the past year but wondering just what this new year will bring. I’m so incredibly proud of everything we accomplished last year during a pandemic. For over 30 years, our organization has focused on the importance of one-on-one, face-to-face interactions with our students and so many of our coaching and enrichment programs are built on the idea that we should meet students where they are and be integrated into the...

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Summer 2021 - Interns with Impact

Our goal at Pivotal is to help our students thrive – in life, school and work. We want to give them all the tools they need to become self-sufficient and that includes helping them find the career of their dreams. Pivotal’s Summer Internship Program is one way we help them along their path to success. Interns get real-world experience in the career they’re interested...

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The Digital Divide

By: Destiny Gibson, Pivotal Scholar and 2021 Summer Marketing Intern

Technology has reshaped society forever: from the first computer, which took up an entire room for just five measly megabits of data, to the MacBook that I’m writing this article on now. As technological advancements change the world, the necessities of our everyday lives also change. But although things like computers and phones have become essential to our daily lives, they haven't become that much more accessible to...

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Celebrating Pivotal's 2021 Graduates

It’s graduation season at Pivotal! This year is especially meaningful since the 2020-2021 school year was full of unexpected challenges for our students and the Pivotal coaches who supported them. From navigating remote learning to limited internship and job opportunities, our scholars overcame hurdle after hurdle and our coaches worked tirelessly to provide our services virtually and provide them with as much support as possible. We’re constantly inspired by our scholars and are...

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Jennifer: Discovering a Passion for Healthcare

Success means different things to different people. For some, it’s graduating from high school or landing a dream job. For others, it’s having the opportunity to build a stable family. Whatever our scholars define as success, Pivotal strives to get them there. And every time we check in with past scholars and see how far they’ve come, we know we’ve done our job. In our “Where Are They Now?” series, we’re catching up with four Pivotal Alumni to share...

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Cicero: Building a Stable Family for His Daughter

Success means different things to different people. For some, it’s graduating from high school or landing a dream job. For others, it’s having the opportunity to build a stable family. Whatever our scholars define as success, Pivotal strives to get them there. And every time we check in with past scholars and see how far they’ve come, we know we’ve done our job. In our “Where Are They Now?” series, we’re catching up with four Pivotal Alumni to share...

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Toni: A Future Lawyer Set on Changing the World

Success means different things to different people. For some, it’s graduating from high school or landing a dream job. For others, it’s having the opportunity to build a stable family. Whatever our scholars define as success, Pivotal strives to get them there. And every time we check in with past scholars and see how far they’ve come, we know we’ve done our job. In our “Where Are They Now?” series, we’re catching up with four Pivotal Alumni to share...

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Marshal: Overcoming a Life of Vices to Help Others

Success means different things to different people. For some, it’s graduating from high school or landing a dream job. For others, it’s having the opportunity to build a stable family. Whatever our scholars define as success, Pivotal strives to get them there. And every time we check in with past scholars and see how far they’ve come, we know we’ve done our job. In our “Where Are They Now?” series, we’re catching up with four Pivotal Alumni to share...

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The Internship Pivot

Phones are buzzing. Spreadsheets are being updated. Excitement is building for what’s to come this summer! It’s one of the most wonderful times of the year here at Pivotal -- the months where we find and lock down dream internships for our scholars.

In case you can’t tell, we’re pretty jazzed about it! Frankly, it’s the enthusiasm and joy we see on our scholar’s faces that gets us out of bed in the morning, particularly when they learn a Pivotal internship...

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Announcing Pivotal's Professional Badging Program!

Growing into adulthood and navigating through new financial and career challenges is stressful! We’ve all struggled at some point to file taxes or address workplace conflict. Heck, it’s not easy! And because we are aware of the extra challenges current and former foster youth face, here at Pivotal we’re always thinking of new ways to help our scholars set the foundation for long-term success. 

Ensuring students have access to social capital, networks, and career...

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The Impact of Internships

You’ve probably heard the saying that landing a job is all about who you know. Networking reigns supreme – but for many foster youth, having the right connections doesn’t happen without a parent’s network to lean on. Securing a college internship is no different, especially in the ultra-competitive Silicon Valley job market. That’s why we’re turning to you -- our community of supporters -- to help connect us to companies and businesses interested in hosting...

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