Growing up in the foster care system, Juliette Bailey faced countless challenges in her life. Despite all the obstacles that life has thrown at her, Bailey is a high-achieving student at Palomar College and looking forward to transferring to a university.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While attending Palomar College, Bailey works three 12-hour shifts a week as a technician at a dialysis center so she can afford the room where she is living. She said she initially floundered when she started at Palomar College, but her journey toward success started when she began meeting with Leslie Aguilar, a counselor with Palomar\u2019s Next Up program, which supports current and former foster youth. Next Up offers services that include counseling, priority registration, tutoring, school supplies, and technology support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI really had no direction in what I wanted to do or go in the right path,\u201d Bailey said. \u201cOnce Leslie gave me a clear view on how to get to my goals, that\u2019s when I started to prioritize school.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bailey has come a long way from her difficult childhood. She said her mother struggled with substance abuse, so Bailey lived with a family friend until she was seven years old. She returned to live with her mother, staying in hotel rooms or a van with her mother, her mother\u2019s boyfriend and other children. When she was 11 years old, she reported her mother to child protective authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI was a kid. I didn\u2019t really know. But I knew something was wrong,\u201d Bailey said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bailey entered the foster care system and was placed with a family with three toddlers. It wasn\u2019t a close relationship, and Bailey left them when she aged out of foster care at 18. She said her family made it clear she was now on her own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf you have a family who wants to keep supporting you when you turn 18, they will,\u201d she said. \u201cMine wasn\u2019t like that. My family was like, \u2018She\u2019s leaving soon.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She began attending CSU San Marcos and was able to live in their dorms. But she had to drop out when she was placed on academic probation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI just wasn\u2019t mentally prepared for college,\u201d Bailey said. \u201cI didn\u2019t think my home life would affect my education, but it really did. Some days I just wouldn\u2019t go to class.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bailey began attending Palomar College and connected with Aguilar a year ago. She said Aguilar helped her realize she wanted to help others, and she is planning to major in social work after graduating from Palomar College. She was accepted at San Diego State University and San Francisco State University and has chosen the latter. \u201cI chose San Francisco State not solely for my educational path but mostly to experience a new adventure out of San Diego County. Since I’ve lived here my entire life what a better way to experience a new community than while pursuing my education,\u201d she stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aguilar said she is moved by the emotional strength that Bailey has shown. \u201cI have been awestruck by Juliette\u2019s tenacity, grit, determination and commitment to school,\u201d Aguilar said. \u201cI\u2019m beyond proud of her accomplishments, but what I am most proud of is her kind, gentle, positive spirit. I see her connecting with others in the future and spreading her positive spirit and incredible fortitude to motivate and inspire.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"