Student Profile
Butte Foster Youth Reaches for his Dreams
It didn’t take Schylar Canfield long working for a telemarketing firm to realize he wanted something different for his future. One major problem — his dreams of a better tomorrow meant he needed to figure out how to get to college today.
As a youth growing up in the Montana foster care system, Canfield didn’t have a traditional support network behind him. For that reason, he shouldered the majority of the responsibility for blazing his path to postsecondary education.
“Everything about getting to college was an obstacle,” he said. “I really didn’t have anyone ever sit down and talk with me about going to college when I was in high school, and I didn’t have parents to guide me.”
Then, Canfield discovered the benefits of the Educational Training and Voucher (ETV) program. The program — coordinated through a partnership between Student Assistance Foundation and the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services — provides up to $5,000 a year for eligible foster care youth.
“ETV really helped when it was available,” he said. “I needed a better computer for school, my car fixed for transportation, books and other school supplies. The ETV helped cover the cost of going to school.”
Today, at the age of 23, Canfield is poised to receive his degree in professional and technical communications. He says it’s been a difficult journey at times, but one that is well worth the effort.
“Don’t be afraid! Just go for it!” Canfield advises other foster care youths about pursuing postsecondary education. “College isn’t that bad and it’s a great way to transition from the high school foster kid stage, to the independent adult stage.”