Student Assistance Foundation hosts a golf scramble each August to raise funds for its mission of providing students with the knowledge and tools to finance and pursue postsecondary education through the Circle of Succe$$ Program.

The 2010 golf scramble will be held on Aug. 12. For more information select one of the options below.

• Register online using Paypal
• Sponsor opportunities
• Download brochure

The Circle of Succe$$ Program was established and funded by Student Assistance Foundation employees in 2005 as a means of providing educational grants to Montana students in need. Through the contributions of employees, 15, $1,000 grants were awarded in the program’s first year. The program has continued to grow in the past few years, with the goal of providing one, $1,000 grant in each of Montana’s 56 communities.

For more information about how to get involved in helping Student Assistance Foundation with this event, contact Kris MacIntyre at (406) 495-7312 or kmacintyre@safmt.org.

A Step Ahead Foster Youth Summer Camp

Montana foster care youth are invited each year to apply for available slots at the “Step Ahead” college preparatory camp. The free camp coordinated by Student Assistance Foundation offers foster care students the opportunity to experience learning in a college campus setting.

Students from across the state participate in activities geared toward teaching them basic computer skills, how to use the Montana Career Information System (MCIS), debt management techniques, how Foster Care Education and Training Vouchers can help them pay for college and more. But, perhaps the most exciting aspect of the camp is that each participant receives a new computer to take home with them!

For more information about “A Step Ahead,” contact Rhonda Safford at (406) 495-7750 or download the application packet. To make a donation download the sponsorship form or make an online donation.

2010 Foster Youth Summer Camp Photos

Each year, Student Assistance Foundation hosts “A Step Ahead” College Prep Camp for Montana foster care youths. Check out the slide show from the 2010 camp!

“Fostering Dreams” Video

Student Assistance Foundation provides a wide range of services to Montana foster care youths. Check out our informational video — Fostering Dreams — to learn more.

The Montana College Access Network (MCAN) was created to provide a coordinated network of mentors, counselors, and other individuals to help students with the postsecondary process, financial aid awareness, and the career development. Goals of the network include providing the National Training for Counselors and Mentors in various settings across the state, holding educational calls/Webinars throughout the school year, and advocating policies, programs, and resources that expand services and support for Montana students.
Join today at knowhow2gomontana.ning.com!

• Montana Board of Education — For more information, visit governor.mt.gov/boed/default.jsp.
• Montana GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) — For more information, visit www.gearup.montana.edu.
• Media Arts in the Public Schools (MAPS) — For more information, visit www.mediarts.org.
• Montana Guaranteed Student Loan Program (MGSLP) — For more information, visit www.mgslp.state.mt.us.
• Montana School Board Association — For more information, visit www.mtsba.org.
• Montana TRIO/ASPIRE — For more information, visit www.mtaspire.org/.
• Montana Post Secondary Educational Opportunities Council (MPSEOC) — For more information, visit www.montanacolleges.org/.
• Office of Public Instruction — For more information, visit www.opi.mt.gov/.
• Montana School Counselors Association — For more information, visit www.mtschoolcounselor.org.
• Helena Education Foundation — For more information, visit www.hefmt.org.
• Jobs for Montana’s Graduates Foundation — For more information, visit www.montana.jag.org/foundation.
• Student Advocates for Financial Education (SAFE) — For more information, visit www.safe.montana.edu.
• Office of Community Service — For more information, visit serve.mt.gov.
• Montana Shares — For more information, visit www.montanashares.org.
• Montana Youth Connections — For more information, visit /www.helena.k12.mt.us/district/youthcon/index.dhtm.
• Leadership Montana — For more information, visit www.leadershipmontana.org.
• American Indian Business Leaders — For more information, visit www.aibl.org.
• Rural Montana Saves — For more information, visit www.reomontana.org.
• Montana Credit Unions for Community Development — www.mcun.org

Tax-deductible contributions to Student Assistance Foundation support Montana students and their families as they strive to reach their dreams of a better tomorrow. Gifts are used to fund these exciting community outreach programs:

• Montana College Goal Sunday — Help students navigate the financial aid maze. Completing the paperwork to receive federal financial aid for college can be daunting. Montana College Goal Sunday, a free event in 18 communities, brings financial aid experts and community volunteers together to help students and parents successfully complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
• Montana Career Information System — “What do I want to do with my life?” is a familiar question many Montana students ask themselves each year. With over 3,500 postsecondary institutions in America and a near limitless amount of vocational options, this career planning database can help students chart a course to a brighter future, a fulfilling career and find scholarships, too.
• A Step Ahead — Help foster youth prepare for college.One of the greatest challenges faced by students who have “aged out” of the foster care system is to move on to college without the support of a family. A Step Ahead college prep camp brings foster care youth together on a college campus to learn leadership, financial management and computer skills. Each camper leaves with a free computer to take with them to college in the fall!
• Circle of Succe$$ Grants — Support students in communities across Montana! Student Assistance Foundation’s goal is to provide at least one, $1,000 scholarship to a student from each of Montana’s 56 counties. This is a chance to help the student down the street or right next door.

Desiree Arguellez

Montana resident Desiree Arguellez may have spent the majority of her youth in the foster care system, but she says the challenges of her past won’t diminish her aspirations for the future.

Instead, she’s committed to using the experiences from her unsettled childhood to propel her toward her goals.

“I have always wanted to break the mold,” said Arguellez recently. “Having the life I had made me very ambitious and desire a completely different future. I decided at a very early age that I would be successful and do everything in my power to get a college education and a good job.”

In fact, Arguellez is scheduled to graduate in May 2010 from Montana State University in Business Management. She plans to use her education to continue working in her job as a financial coordinator at ERA Landmark in Bozeman.

While Arguellez may have lacked the same level of family support that many students enjoy when they pursue their dreams of higher education, she says she wasn’t alone in this endeavor.

“My friends were amazingly supportive of me,” she said. “They always tell me how strong and inspiring I am, but really it is them that keep me going.”

Arguellez said that, combined with proceeds from a full-time job, and financial support she received through the Education and Training Voucher (ETV) program and other financial aid sources, contributed to her academic success.

According to Arguellez, it would be particularly meaningful for her to help other foster care students embarking on their college careers through a mentoring program in the future. However, for the moment, her advice to them is this:
“Stay positive. The fact that you’ve made the decision to go to college says a lot about you, and that is the biggest step. You can do whatever you set your mind to — nothing is impossible.”

Marie Burke

If you ask Marie Burke when she knew college was in her future, she’ll tell you there wasn’t a time she didn’t want to pursue higher education.

“I guess it was always a given,” said Burke, who grew up in Billings, recently. “Even before I knew what college was, I think it was engrained in me that it was what I was going to do after high school.”

This spring, Burke realized that dream, graduating from the University of Southern California with bachelor of arts degrees in Theater and Communications. She plans to pursue a career in acting in Los Angeles.

While Burke is but one of many Montana students who donned caps and gowns this graduation season, the journey she took in order to walk across that stage to accept her diploma was far more challenging than those of the majority of her peers.

Burke entered the Montana foster care system immediately after she was born and remained in state custody until she was 2 years old. At that point, she went to live with her birth father and remained with him until she turned 14. Burke returned to the foster care system, and was placed in three, different foster homes in rapid succession. She was adopted at the age of 16 by her final foster family.

Burke acknowledges that — compared with many of her counterparts in foster care — she received considerable support for her academic endeavors. She credits her adoptive family, campus support groups, and the Education and Training Voucher program (administered by nonprofit Student Assistance Foundation) with providing her the emotional and financial support to follow her dreams.

According to Burke, the experience wasn’t always easy. Initially, she struggled in the social arena, and with selecting a career path, but had these issues well under control by her junior year.

“If anyone is prepared to succeed in college, it is the person who has learned to fight and persevere under extraordinary circumstances, like foster youths,” she said. “If you have the heart and passion to succeed, and you work hard, you really can do anything. Don’t give up and find what makes you truly happy.”

In addition to seeking a job and pursuing her acting career, Burke said she intends to help other youths identify their plans for their future and provide them with the same kind of support she received from friends and family as she pursued higher education.

“I’m excited and I feel prepared for anything,” Burke said.

Nonprofit Student Assistance Foundation (SAF) would like to thank the following generous donors for their contributions to our public service efforts. Because of you, SAF is able to help Montana students attain their dreams of postsecondary education!