I was 12 or 13 when I came to the United States from South Africa. There was a lot to get used to but learning about a new culture and environment, and meeting people from different backgrounds helped expand my experience and open my mind. I hadn’t been great in school in South Africa, but when I started school in the U.S., I found the teaching style worked better for me. I understood more and had so many more resources available; it made it easier. 

I was involved with Catholic Charities and when I started at Solano Community College, they introduced me to Pivotal and their services. I was getting acquainted with college life, registering for classes, and figuring out how to navigate college. My Pivotal coach, Monider, has been my coach for a long time now. From the start, she gave me a lot of help and encouragement as well as the tools to help me identify some of my strengths and weaknesses and worked with me on how to improve. Just being aware of what I’m good at and what I need to work on helped me through my journey at school. 

Monider and I have a really strong connection, but it took some time. Foster kids have a lot of people coming in and out of their lives - social workers, counselors, teachers. It’s not easy to come into a person’s life and be in their space but Monider was persistent and patient. She waited and watched how I was reacting and matched my vibe. She wasn’t too pushy and that was very helpful. Just having someone who respects you makes all the difference.  

Hanais Quote

We had a lot of meetings with my counselor and Monider motivated me to make the most of them and helped me figure out what questions to ask. I graduated from Solano Community College with a degree in Psychology and transferred to Sacramento State University. I always wanted to work with people and when I started college, I realized I was interested in becoming a therapist. I just wasn’t sure how to get there. Monider and I did a lot of assessments which helped narrow down exactly what I wanted to do.  

I have a lot of nieces and nephews and when I was in school, I was also helping take care of them. It was difficult to juggle all those responsibilities, but I wouldn’t trade that experience for the world. It helped me realize how much I want to work with kids and families. I’m really proud of remaining true to myself in my journey as a student and also as an auntie. 

My faith also really inspires me – I’m Christian and the principles that I’ve gathered from that have helped me pick an occupation standing up for families and keeping families together. I decided that I want to eventually become a marriage and family therapist, so I switched my major to Family Studies and Human Development and graduated this past December. I’m looking into masters’ programs now, as well as trying to find a job to get some practical experience. 

Pivotal has been very helpful not just financially  through scholarships and resources, but for helping me through the ups and downs and transitions I’ve gone through in school and in life. I’m so grateful to have these resources that so many people don’t have. I’m really grateful that I got to come to this country and have the opportunity to go to college. 

Life is a journey and it’s not always a straight path, but even if it takes you on a different route, keep your eyes on the goal and what you want to do. There’s a lot of challenges but if you know what you want, you stay true to that goal and you’re more likely to obtain that goal. Life is going to throw some stuff in your way but if you really want something, you can accomplish it by setting that goal and always finding a route to get there. 

Hanais Monider Quote