Fostering hope

Hoa Vo is an agent of change. Growing up in DeKalb, her journey through foster care fueled a deep passion for advocating for others. While at NIU, she witnessed firsthand the lack of support provided to former foster youth as they transitioned into college, leading many to drop out after their first semester.

Hoa Vo

“My goal is to empower individuals to make more intentional decisions in their lives, become the advocates they need, and discover their own voice,” said Vo, who earned bachelor’s degrees in both psychology and human development and family sciences from NIU in 2023. “I am committed to continuing my work with minority and underrepresented communities.”

In 2021, Vo was an intern at Be Strong Families, a national non-profit organization that has been preventing child abuse and neglect through community-based, peer-to-peer activities since 2012. Along with a fellow intern, she presented data identifying the lack of resources and support available to foster care youth and proposed a program to address it.

“At the time, we didn’t know what to expect, however, years later, the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) invested in more foster programs, contributing to the development of the Foster Progress Youth in Care-College Advocate Program (Y-CAP).”

Navigating college can be challenging for many students, and students coming from the foster care system face additional obstacles. The Y-CAP program provides critical academic and personal support for today’s students.

“The program understands that students can’t focus on academics when they are navigating adulthood without guidance and placed in a fight or flight response,” said Vo, who is currently pursuing a master’s degree in applied human development and family science with a specialization in marriage and family therapy at NIU.

This is how the program works: Y-CAP pairs peer advocates with foster youth who are either entering or continuing college. Advocates participate in training sessions and curriculum that covers essential topics such as resource access, vicarious trauma, conflict resolution and collaborative planning. NIU is one of six universities in Illinois that have active Y-CAP chapters, and Vo serves as a peer advocate.

“I provide ongoing support to NIU students with foster care experience by conducting workshops, planning events and meeting one-on-one with my mentees,” Vo said. “This experience has enriched my time as a Huskie by connecting me with a larger community and improving my leadership skills.”

After she graduates, Vo plans to continue working with minority and underrepresented groups, aiming to become a therapist and potentially apply for doctoral programs with a goal of providing trauma-informed and culturally sensitive support.

Professor DeAnna Harris-McKoy, director of the specialization in marriage and family therapy program at NIU, said Vo is a great representative of the program and of the Huskie spirit.

Hoa Vo is a smart, talented and determined student,” said Harris-McKoy. “It is evident that she takes her education and future career as a marriage and family therapist seriously. I am so excited to see where her knowledge, skills, and talents take her after graduation.”

Source: NIU Today CHHS News

66 comments

  1. Hoa’s story is truly inspiring. It’s powerful how personal experience in foster care can fuel such dedicated advocacy. How does her work specifically support teens transitioning out of the system? Wishing her continued success in making a real difference.

  2. This story is really moving. It’s incredible how personal experiences can drive someone to create such meaningful change. I’m curious—how does their work directly impact the community they’re helping? Wishing them all the best as they continue making a difference.

  3. This story is really moving. It’s incredible how personal experiences can drive someone to create such meaningful change. I’m curious—how does their work directly impact the community they’re helping? Wishing them all the best as they continue making a difference.

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  8. Hoa Vo’s journey is truly inspiring! Transforming her foster care experience into advocacy demonstrates remarkable resilience. The Y-CAP program provides essential support for students facing similar challenges. Her commitment to empowering underrepresented communities is commendable. We need more leaders like her who understand these struggles firsthand. Wishing her success as she pursues her therapy career to help others heal and thrive.ClothMotion is the best ai fashion video generator for fashion brand and tiktok creators.

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  13. The near-peer mentorship approach Hoa describes is exactly what actually moves the needle for foster alumni in college. Academic advising alone rarely addresses the isolation piece, which is often what drives those first-semester dropouts.

  14. Hoa Vo’s dedication to supporting former foster youth is incredibly impactful, especially given her own experiences. It’s disheartening to hear how many students drop out after their first semester due to a lack of support. I’m curious about the specific strategies the Foster Progress Youth in Care-College Advocate Program employs. Are there mentorship components, or perhaps financial aid navigation assistance? My own journey through education, while not in foster care, was significantly smoother due to readily available guidance counselors, and I can only imagine how much more crucial that support is for young adults facing such a significant life transition without established networks. Her commitment to the goal of empowering individuals to make intentional decisions and find their voice is a powerful mission.

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  20. This story highlights such an important issue. The transition from foster care to college is incredibly challenging, and programs like Y-CAP provide essential support that many of us take for granted. Beyond academic help, I believe mental health resources and mentorship from people who’ve walked this path could be game-changers. See Your AI Slop Bores Me for more perspectives on youth advocacy.

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  35. Hoa Vo’s commitment to empowering former foster youth really resonates. It’s disheartening to hear about the high dropout rates for these students, and it highlights a significant systemic gap. I’m curious about the specific methods her program employs to help these young adults make “intentional decisions” and find their “own voice.” My own experience in a different advocacy role showed me how crucial personalized guidance is during critical transitions, especially for those who haven’t had consistent support systems. It’s fantastic that her work has already influenced DCFS initiatives.

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