Jacqueline is passionate and determined in all she does. Earlier this year, she graduated from UCLA with a Master’s in Public Policy. Her journey with United Friends started in 2017 when she joined the education program. Her goal was to get an education as a way out of her life circumstances.

She first entered the foster care system 19 years ago. Her mother struggled with drug addiction and severe mental illness, while her father was absent due to serving a life sentence in prison.

“I bounced between foster homes, kinship care, and eventually aged out and placed into a group home… I navigated through life alone,” Jacqueline says.

But Jacqueline kept her eyes on her goal, which enabled her to complete her undergraduate degree in a record three years! Then, at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, she started graduate school.

Jacqueline recalls this time in her journey, “I was on the verge of homelessness since I was about to age out of extended foster care. That is when I secured housing through UFC’s Pathways housing program. This was significant for me since I was just starting graduate school and needed stability in order to succeed.”

We are so proud of Jacqueline and we congratulate her on all of her amazing accomplishments!