Each May, Foster Care Month centers the voices of students navigating the foster care system. Across the United States, hundreds of thousands of young people in foster care and adoption programs have the same dreams as their peers: to graduate, go to college, and build meaningful careers. The National Foster Youth Institute reports that without targeted support, many of these students do not get the help they need1.
These learners often face significant barriers to higher education2. These gaps are not because foster youth lack talent or drive, but rather they face uphill battles like financial challenges and switching schools often, which can lead to a lack of consistent adult support, resources, falling behind between transfers, anxiety, and an overall lack of motivation to continue their education.
Gary Hopkins, from Detroit, Michigan, along with his brother, spent his early years in the foster care and adoption system. By the time he started elementary school, he had already faced instability that most children never experienced, which had a huge impact on his childhood.
While they were in the system, he and his brother moved from Detroit to Ann Arbor. There, his experiences in school renewed his determination to be more than just a statistic. “In sixth grade, my friends were already talking about college. That opened my eyes to the possibility that I could go.” Hopkins started to imagine new possibilities for himself, even before he fully understood what it would take to achieve them.
During his high school years, Hopkins’ counselor at Ann Arbor Skyline High School recognized Gary’s potential and saw beyond his circumstances. His counselor recognized his situation and worked to support him in accessing the resources for which he was eligible.
One of those resources was the ACT Fee Waiver Program, which alleviates ACT test fees and offers free prep to students with financial challenges. While Hopkins initially took the ACT test on his own, he didn’t score as well as he’d liked due to test anxiety and not feeling prepared.
This is where the benefits of having access to retesting and the ACT Fee Waiver Program work together to give learners like Hopkins every chance at success. Alleviating the financial challenges improved not only how he approached retesting, but also his score.
Retaking the ACT with a fee waiver gave Hopkins more confidence, which helped lower his test anxiety and highlighted his abilities. His motto, “It became me versus me,” shifted his perspective from self-doubt to self-belief, enabling him to follow his dreams.
Even though his path to college was not straightforward, Hopkins’ persistence and life experiences helped him earn a degree in political studies from Michigan State University. During that time, he realized that “less than 10% of kids who come from my situation even get a chance to graduate college. That made me extremely grateful.” This achievement put him among a small but growing group of students who have been in foster care and are completing college degrees.
Throughout his journey, he realized that he wanted to help other youth achieve their dreams despite their situations. He had found the strength to persevere through his life circumstances, appreciated the mentors who believed in him along the way, and wanted to be that kind of support for other kids.
“My experience shaped my commitment to supporting other youth — especially those in foster care — by helping them access opportunities that empower them.”
Today, Hopkins is paying it forward as an alumni and youth success associate at Developing KIDS, mentoring high school and college students, and making sure they have access to resources such as scholarships, FAFSA support, mental health services, and academic guidance that may lead students to use resources such as the ACT Fee Waiver Program just as he did. His story reflects a powerful truth for educators, employers, and advocates alike: access doesn’t end with one student; it multiplies.
When educators and mentors notice learners who may get easily overlooked, affirm their potential, and connect them to opportunities, society ultimately benefits from their diverse experiences. Gary Hopkins’ story demonstrates that students in foster care need access, adults who pay attention, and programs like the ACT Fee Waiver Program that remove financial barriers so that those barriers don’t shape their futures.
1 https://nfyi.org/issues/higher-education/
2Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2026