Rita grew up in foster care as a victim of circumstances that consumed her childhood with sadness, anger and hopelessness. In and out of juvenile hall, running away from group homes, Rita was headed down the unfortunate yet common path for children caught in the system; a path of destruction, loneliness, and poverty.

The negative and positive life lessons Rita learned as an adolescent had a significant influence upon the direction of her life. Rather than give up and succumb to the will of those who did not believe in her, she triumphantly overcame the obstacles of life that would have forced her to become another casualty of the foster care system.

With a vision and the inspiration of creating a better life for herself, Rita became emancipated at the age of 16 and began the arduous process of getting her education. First she received her high school diploma from continuation school, moved on to community college and earned her A.A. degree, transferred to San Diego State University and graduated in 2004 with a B.A. in Social Work and a minor in Anthropology.

While attending college, Rita worked tirelessly as an advocate and activist for foster youth in San Diego County. Her involvement began by participating on a Former Foster Youth Speakers Panel through the Independent Living Skills (ILS) Program. She was a member of California Youth Connection and has been involved in many more advisory and policy interests. Rita has been recognized for her efforts with numerous articles and interviews that have appeared in various publications and television productions designed to bring attention to the issues of children in foster care.

In acknowledgment of her achievements, Rita has received several awards such as the Spirit of Youth Award from the Coalition for Juvenile Justice and the Hispanic Heritage Local Hero Award for Community Activism sponsored by KPBS and Union Bank. Rita has given her heart and soul in trying to make the system of foster care better for youth and families. Her belief in today's youth keeps her active by working to build strong leadership and future activists to continue the movement towards positive change. Rita is pursuing her M.S.W. in Community Organizing, Planning, and Administration in Child Welfare offered at USC to further her goal to evoke change in foster care through policy and community action.
   
 

College Mom:
Rita Naranjo

 A Hero's Story

  My college journey started with a mental determination when I was 14 years old and pregnant with my daughter.  I knew what I didn't want.  I didn't want my daughter to have a drug addict as a mother.  I didn't want my daughter to have a mother who was going to be homeless or in and out of prison. 

This is the kind of mother that I had and I was wholeheartedly determined to not follow this same path. It was not long before I learned that college was an option that I was going to pursue.
   
  I attended a continuation high school, which had a teen parent program and I could do my work self-paced.  A light went on in my head, and I thought to my self, "Wow! I can move as fast as I want?"  I am a survivor of many struggles and with the mentality that I had, I knew that I could use this to my advantage.  I had also learned that I could take college classes concurrently to earn college and high school credit at the same time.  I was determined to make this happen.

   
  I eventually earned over forty high school credits and twelve college units before I even graduated from high school. 

This also enabled me to graduate early from high school when I was 17, with a 2 year old daughter.  During this time, I left a very unsafe home environment to try and make it on my own...that's a whole other story!
   
  It took me four years to earn my AA degree, because I started  in remedial classes and they were hard for me.  Nevertheless, in 2001 I earned my AA and transfered to San Diego State University at the age of 20.  In 2004, I earned my BA in Social Work and Anthropology. 

I am very proud to say that I am now working on my Master's of Social Work in Community Organizing at the University of Southern California (USC).  It has been a long journey, but I would say that it has been easy.  Because I am so determined and believe that earning an education, being a role model, and being a leader in showing that higher education is attainable. 

Higher education is attainable for teen mothers, for poor people, for ex-felons, for people who have suffered from drug addiction, and those of us who the "system" has been oppressing for years. 

There is a way to make it happen, but it has to start with us raising our consciousness about who we are and the world in which we live.

------------------------------Rita Naranjo
   

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