Toro Guardian Scholars program offers guidance, mentorship, sense of community on campus.
By Luis Ruiz, Staff Reporter
Editor’s note—content warning: This story makes reference to physical abuse.
Foster youth often face extra challenges in college, having grown up without the consistent support many students take for granted.
Lesli Calderon entered the foster care system at six years old after a teacher discovered bruises covering her body. Now a senior sociology major at CSUDH, Calderon understands the lasting impact of that instability.
“One thing about foster youth, you lack the feeling of foundation and don’t have any set roots because you’re always moving,” Calderon told The Bulletin.
Calderon hadn’t planned to attend a university, but after earning two associate degrees with honors from Long Beach City College, she decided to keep going. A campus tour with the Toro Guardian Scholars—a program that supports former foster youth by connecting them to resources and community—helped her envision a future at CSUDH.
The program, Calderon said, offered “a sense of belonging” and helped her to feel “safe and comfortable.”
“I get help from the smallest things,” Calderon explained. “I get a free parking pass, books if I need them, and being able to have a psychologist—which I take full advantage of.”
The Toro Guardian Scholars program aims to help students build community and reach their academic goals. It offers support with housing, textbooks, and financial aid, as well as mentorship, counseling, and opportunities to connect with peers who share similar experiences.
The program served nearly 200 students last year and celebrated its largest graduating class, with 34 students earning their degrees.
“I check in with a student holistically,” said Jaylen Hicks, student support specialist for the program. “Not only about their academics but about their personal well-being, physical well-being, just making sure that they’re good as students at Dominguez.”
Students enter the foster care system for many reasons. Some experience abuse or neglect, while others grow up amid financial instability or family hardship. For Bryan Hernandez, home life as a child was marked by both.
“It was dysfunctional — a lot of physical fighting, verbal abuse going on, my brothers hanging out around the bad crowds,” said Hernandez, a junior psychology student who entered the foster care system at the age of 10.
“I got put into a new home, which felt like a whole new world—not in a good way, a nightmare that I couldn’t wake up from,” he said.
Hernandez is part of United Friends of the Children, a nonprofit that supports current and former foster youth. The program helped him apply to college, and his mentor introduced him to CSUDH and Toro Guardian Scholars.
“[Toro Guardian Scholars has] been there every step of the way through my academic and professional journey,” he said. “They always reach out, letting me know about opportunities on campus.”
Toro Guardian Scholars also hosts events and workshops to help students in the program build community and connection.
By age 23, only about 10% of foster youth have earned an associate or bachelor’s degree—compared with roughly 36% of their peers—according to data from John Burton Advocates for Youth and the California Student Aid Commission.
“I was just trying to focus on work, and school wasn’t something that was primary,” Hernandez explained. “I didn’t apply myself 100%.”
“We serve as a resource and provide students with opportunities to connect with the rest of the resources on campus,” said Hicks, the student support specialist.
In the last year, the program provided more than $305,000 in financial support to its scholars—a 152% increase from the previous year. That assistance covered housing, tuition, parking permits, and other essential needs for students experiencing homelessness, food insecurity, or financial hardship.
For both Hernandez and Calderon, giving back is the ultimate goal, helping other foster youth navigate challenges through mentorship, education, and support.
“I want to work in low-income neighborhoods, in schools that don’t have the best education,” Calderon said. “I want to guide students who have been through things that I went through.”