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Winter Haven College Student Adopted from Foster Care Has Zero Student Debt. Here’s Why:

From left to right: Ronald, Victor, and Violet Sims. (Courtesy of Simms Family)
Victor Sims (center) has completed a Bachelor’s degree at USF and is working on a Master’s degree. The state of Florida is paying for it, thanks to a program specifically for students like Victor who were adopted from the foster care system. (Courtesy of Sims Family)

 

A Winter Haven man who was adopted from foster care as a child is doing something remarkable. He’s working on a postgraduate degree entirely on the state of Florida’s dime, and it’s all thanks to having been adopted.

Victor Sims’s parents, Violet and Ronald, could not have children of their own, so they looked into foster care. They then decided they wanted to adopt children.

“It was crazy, but it was fun,” Violet said about the experience. All seven of the children the couple adopted are now grown up.

Of course, the state provides some financial help to foster parents and families that actually adopt foster children. But what you may not know is that Florida has a program that pays the tuition at state universities, community colleges and vocational schools for students adopted from foster care.

Victor is taking advantage of that program in a major way. He has already graduated from USF with a Bachelor’s degree and is working on a Masters degree. He has no college debt.

“Now that’s exciting,” he said with a laugh. “When I graduated with my Bachelor’s I was talking with one of my closest friends and he was talking about how he has $60,000 in debt. All I could think of was, ‘thank God I was adopted.’”

The free college program is available for children adopted from foster care through the age of 28.

 

By Rick Elmhorst Polk County
PUBLISHED 5:00 AM EDT Jul. 25, 2019

Original Article

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Alexia Nechayev

FYS Events & Meeting Chair
(Palm Beach/Miami)

Alexia Nechayev, from Miami, Florida, is a dedicated advocate for youth with lived experience in foster care and with homelessness. After being placed in foster care as a teenager, Alexia experienced firsthand the stigma surrounding the system, as well as the challenges of navigating a system that didn’t provide support for her to advocate for herself. This experience motivated her to create change, ensuring that other youth in care have the tools and resources she lacked.

She graduated with a B.A. in Psychology from Florida International University, and upon graduation worked as a Hope Navigator with the Department of Children and Families which allowed her to assist clients through individualized care plans, further deepening her commitment to improving the lives of marginalized youth. Alexia is now applying to law schools with the goal of advancing her advocacy work through a legal career. As the Events and Meetings Chair for Florida Youth SHINE (FYS), she creates opportunities for foster and homeless youth to collaborate and push for meaningful change. She is also an active member of the Policy and Initiative Team for Florida Youth SHINE, where she helps create and shape policies that directly impact youth in foster care. One of her proudest accomplishments is helping to develop the Foster Care Bill of Rights, a law that she feels would have made a difference during her own time in care.

In addition to her work with FYS, Alexia serves on the Board of Directors for the parent organization of FYS, Florida’s Children First. In this role, she contributes to strategic decision-making while advocating for the rights and welfare of children statewide.

Every year, she travels to the state capitol to advocate for bills she and her peers have helped shape, including key pieces of legislation that benefit foster and homeless youth. However her advocacy extends beyond her state, as she represents Florida Youth SHINE at national conferences such as the National Leaders 4 Change Conference.

Through her internship with the National Foster Youth Institute, Alexia continues to refine her advocacy skills, preparing for a future where she can contribute meaningfully to both policymaking and the legal system. Guided by the belief that “the blue sky is always there,” she remains committed to ensuring that every youth in foster care has the power and support to advocate for themselves.

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