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Blog Archive: A Foster Youth

student Dakota Eddy
Nathan Hickey first started mentoring 19-year-old Dakota Eddy three years ago, when she was a sophomore at Mill River Union High School. Working through the GEAR UP program, Nathan is part of a team of VSAC Outreach Counselors throughout the state who offer guidance and support to middle- and high…
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Xavier Wood photo
In the fall of 2020, Michelle Legere walked into the sophomore-class advisory group at Richford Junior-Senior High School to introduce herself as a brand-new VSAC Outreach Counselor. Even on her very first day at work, she knew that Xavier Wood was a standout. “The students took turns introducing…
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Nick Williams
During the spring of his senior year at Burr & Burton Academy, Nick Williams had several college acceptance letters sitting on his desk. But, he recalls saying to his parents at the time, “I have no idea how I’m going to afford this.” “It kind of soured the process for me,” says Nick, now 24. “I…
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Rhiana Carr
When college-bound Rhiana Carr was starting her final year at Fair Haven Union High School and thinking about next steps, the top-ranked college just 18 miles down the road from her home in Orwell wasn’t initially on her application list. Even though Middlebury College was very familiar to her—given…
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Student Photos from VSAC
The VSAC team wants to say a special “thank you” to all of the students who have participated in our VSAC Student Spotlight profile series over the last year. We truly appreciate your taking the time -- and having the courage -- to share your stories with the world. And in the spirit of Thanksgiving…
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Charlie Wallace
Twenty-year-old Charlie Wallace describes her art as “modern and eclectic. It’s totally random, and I love it. It gives me feeling.” The soft-spoken young woman with the slight Southern accent and the blue streaks in her hair is now herself an eclectic mix of northern Vermont – where she moved, on…
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