For two decades, the University of California, Berkeley’s Hope Scholars program has provided support to students who have experienced foster care or housing insecurity. Established in 2005 by Michelle Kniffin, then an assistant director of university housing, the program began as a response to the challenges faced by students arriving on campus without family support or basic necessities.
Tristan Lombard, one of the program’s early participants, recalled his initial skepticism when first contacted by what was then called the Cal Independent Scholars Network. “If the university had not invested in someone like me and given me the financial aid, given me just some bed sheets, a welcome week, my life could have gone a very different route,” said Lombard. He graduated in 2010 and went on to work in nonprofits and higher education before becoming a startup marketing consultant.
The program has grown from serving one student with one staff member to supporting more than 360 students over its history. In 2025 alone, it assisted 170 students. Under current director Charly King Beavers, enrollment tripled between 2020 and 2022. The team now includes four full-time staff members and has expanded its services to graduate students.
At a recent anniversary event celebrating the program’s achievements, Beavers stated: “Hope Scholars’ track record shows ‘20 years of proving that when we invest in students who have experienced foster care or childhood homelessness, we are investing in brilliance, in leaders, in scholars and changemakers.’”
The program’s founders—Kniffin and Deborah Lowe Martinez—attended the celebration alongside alumni such as Lombard. Kniffin was inspired to start the initiative after learning about a student who arrived at Berkeley alone with minimal belongings. She worked with allies including Mary Catherine Birgeneau and Professor Jill Duerr Berrick to secure resources for these students.
Today Hope Scholars supports anyone not raised by biological parents—including orphans and those raised by relatives—as well as those from foster care backgrounds. Beavers brings personal experience to her role; she was orphaned young and raised by relatives herself.
Research indicates that fewer than two-thirds of California foster youth graduate high school within four years compared to 87% of their peers. Only about 3.6% earn four-year college degrees by age 23; nationally this figure ranges from 8% to 12% for two- or four-year colleges.
Beavers explained that navigating college can be especially challenging for former foster youth: “You’re asking students who’ve moved through multiple schools and foster homes—who’ve faced instability and broken support systems—to arrive at one of the most demanding universities and already know how to succeed.”
Alexis Wood, a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate in geography who entered foster care at age ten, described her initial college experience as disorienting due to lack of guidance on academic norms such as syllabi or participation expectations. She later found community through Hope Scholars after transferring to UC Berkeley for graduate studies.
Hope Scholars offers peer mentorship along with access to financial advising, mental health counseling, academic support—and practical assistance such as move-in packages and stipends ($3,000 for first-year students; $2,000 thereafter). It also fosters social connection through events like game nights and Thanksgiving dinners.
The program helps prepare participants for professional life with networking opportunities involving retired professors, internship placements, tech company tours, funding for professional attire or test fees—and specialized events plus $6,000 stipends for graduate students.
Erick Mendes—a senior double majoring in political science and business administration—serves as a peer adviser while preparing to become his biological family’s first college graduate. Reflecting on his journey he said: “People who grew up in the foster care system … aren’t supposed to succeed. People here are spectacular and have beaten all the odds.”
Alumni panelists at the anniversary event included professionals across various fields—from psychotherapy (Sonia Aldape) to engineering—who credited Hope Scholars with helping them overcome significant obstacles during their studies.
Aldape shared: “It is also one of the reasons I ultimately became a therapist because I saw the great impact it had simply being an emotionally supportive space.” She is now pursuing a doctorate.
Beavers announced that Hope Scholars will triple its office space at César Chavez Student Center due to increased demand—a development Kniffin called “pretty amazing.”
In closing remarks marking ten years since renaming the initiative Hope Scholars in 2015 Beavers said: “Hope is not a passive word; it’s not something to wait for. It’s something we build every day together… It’s what turned this small program into a legacy.”
