Sparking Success Scholars Fund
About the Fund
The Sparking Success Scholars Program at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is designed to support students with foster care experience as they navigate college and work toward graduation. Led by Jennifer Geiger, PhD, associate professor at the Jane Addams College of Social Work, the program focuses on improving students’ college experiences through awareness of available resources, information-sharing, community building, and comprehensive support. Sparking Success aims to help create a “safety net” by bringing together faculty, staff, and community partners to provide specialized workshops, social support, connections to campus and community resources, and opportunities to build relationships with peers and professionals.
Young people with foster care experience often have strong educational aspirations, but face barriers such as financial instability, housing insecurity, limited access to supportive adults and challenges navigating complex college systems. Research shows that fewer than 10% of young adults with foster care experience will earn a college degree, compared with more than two-thirds of the general population. Postsecondary education can provide a lifeline to social mobility and economic stability into adulthood. Campus support programs like Sparking Success offer connections to key financial, academic, and social supports needed for them to be successful.
In the Words of Jennifer Geiger
“Having worked with foster youth, I have seen how much difference a program such as Sparking Success Scholars can make in their lives, and how much difference a college degree can make for their future. JACSW has great expertise in the area of foster care and UIC has an array of programs and resources to draw on as students. With our many community partnerships, this program is uniquely positioned to support youth in pursuing their educational goals. Support the Sparking Success Scholars fund and help make these goals a reality!”
More About the Fund
The program at UIC will identify admitted former foster youths and recruit others to participate in a comprehensive support program that will help them persist through college and graduate. Key faculty and staff from the Jane Addams College of Social Work, FirstYear Initiatives at UIC, and community partners will work together to help guide and support students with specialized workshops, social support, and community-building activities to promote engagement with other students, connection with services and resources, and networks with professionals who will form a “safety net” for them throughout their UIC experience.
The program will be housed at Jane Addams College of Social Work, and the Sparking Success Scholars Fund has been created to support the initiative.
An initial generous gift to the fund has been made by JACSW alumnus Kathy Kirn, BSW ’82, MSW ‘83 and her husband David Levinson, but additional support is needed to fully implement the program.
In the Words of a Donor
“The challenge of navigating and getting through college is daunting for most students, but especially difficult for students who don’t have the support that many others enjoy. When Jackie Bonavia approached us with this project, we were immediately interested and eager to participate. We have all imagined what we would do with our lives, and many of us have achieved our dreams. Being able to give others that same opportunity is an exciting prospect.”