I am Pivotal: Anaztajia's Story

This National Foster Care Month, we’re celebrating the Pivotal coaches, community partners, donors, and alumni who are pivotal to the scholars we serve. People like post-secondary scholar Anaztajia. Inspired by the people who supported her through some of the hardest times in her life, she now wants to be that person for other foster youth. 

For a long time, Anaztajia was determined to do everything “right.” Graduate high school. Finish college fast. Move forward without slowing down. Like many young people in foster care, she felt tremendous pressure to stay on a path defined by others rather than one she chose for herself.  

After high school, she started at Santa Barbara City College, navigating school and an unfamiliar city and working as a resident assistant in the dorms. She had been working with a Pivotal coach since high school and when she relocated five hours south, her post-secondary coach, Savonna, kept working with her remotely, knowing how important it is to stay connected during life transitions like this. Savonna stayed by her side, checking in, showing up, and making sure she didn’t have to navigate the changes alone.  

Slowly, Anaztajia began to make friends and grow accustomed to college life in Santa Barbara. She felt like she was on track. But, of course, life doesn’t always go the way we expect. About three years into her college career, her grandmother passed away. The loss hit hard. Her grandmother had been the one constant Anaztajia had while growing up in foster care. She struggled to keep up with her coursework as she tried to manage her grief. Frankee, her small Boston terrier, became her only anchor to the world. She had to feed and walk him regularly, and taking care of him helped her stay connected to the world. But an injury at work on top of everything else made her realize that she needed help to keep her forward momentum.  

What mattered most in that moment wasn’t just academic advice or resources. It was knowing someone would still be there for her. Her Pivotal coach, Savonna helped her realize that her path did not have to be defined by someone else. She made the difficult decision to come home to the Bay Area and return to the support of her foster moms. She enrolled at San Jose City College to continue her college journey and eventually began working at Child Advocates of Silicon Valley. 

Over time, Anaztajia realized that asking for help was not a failure, but a skill. When exhaustion and self-doubt crept in, her coach, Savonna offered patience, practical support, and long-term perspective. She would check in regularly, remind her of key deadlines, and help her apply for financial aid and the transfer process. She also made sure to celebrate the small wins along the way, which helped keep Anaztajia encouraged. 

Today, Anaztajia is carrying an intense seven class course load as she works to complete the final 21 units she needs to graduate with an associate degree for Transfer in Sociology, an additional associate of arts in Liberal Arts (Social and Behavioral Sciences), and completion of her CSU General Education requirement. With Savonna’s encouragement, Anaztajia did something her younger self would never have considered: she applied to four universities and was accepted to all of them. This fall, she’s planning on transferring to Cal State East Bay to get her bachelor’s degree in social work. 

Inspired by the social workers she had while in foster care who encouraged her and left a lasting impression, she wants to work in a county child welfare department, ideally supporting foster youth. She believes her lived experience can be a bridge for young people entering the foster care system. 

This desire to support, to translate systems, to walk alongside young people is what makes Anaztajia’s journey pivotal. Her story is not just about educational milestones or degrees earned. It is about persistence through grief, the power of steady relationships, and what is possible when young people are supported long enough to grow into themselves and find their own path.