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When Patrick McCabe and Romi Lassally met a young college student named Regina, she was terrified about the future. You could see the uncertainty in her eyes. Having lost her parents at a young age and no idea what to do next, her only solution after college was to live in her car.
Her circumstances changed when Ready to Succeed became a new part of her life. For the first time, she felt like the wind was at her back, propelling her towards a brighter future. Through career coaching, professional connections, and support for her basic needs, Regina’s potential was unlocked.
Her story is just the beginning.
The impact of Ready to Succeed has shaped the future of foster youth in the United States, particularly in L.A. County, which is home to the largest foster care system.
Romi Lassally, Ready to Succeed’s co-founder, had an extensive and successful career in the entertainment industry before she realized she was more interested in providing young people with opportunities for careers that felt out of reach to them.
“I’ve always been interested in young people going through transitions,” she says. “And I realized that not everyone has those chance encounters or inherited networks that build their careers, especially the foster youth and the first-gen students that we work with. And I thought there must be a way to spark those moments.”
As she was trying to solve this puzzle, fate knocked at her door.
Enter Patrick McCabe.
McCabe, the co-founder of Ready to Succeed, shared the same goals as Lassally. After much success in his 25-year career in the T.V. industry and sports, he founded New Roads Elementary School in Santa Monica, California.
At New Roads Elementary, he began a program to nurture bright and underserved students.
“We had a program where we were offering foster youth, who were very qualified academically in high school, a place in private and parochial schools here on the West Side of Los Angeles,” he says.
The students were gifted academically, but something held them back. Most of them lived in foster homes, and growing up without parental care or a support system was daunting. This was a critical insight that led to the creation of Ready to Succeed’s holistic and proven process.
In 2016, Lassally and McCabe launched Ready to Succeed with only seven students. Today, there are over 400 students, plus 50 new foster youth starting this summer. RTS students also referred to as Scholars, access 1-on-1 career coaching, professional networking opportunities, paid internships, and mental, emotional, and financial support – all with the end result of launching them into successful careers upon graduation.
“We wanted the young people we’re working with to have what our kids had, including people who could open doors to internships, which are critical in getting a job,” Lassally says.
In the U.S., 40% of college students drop out every year, with 30% dropping out in the first year. The focus of Ready to Succeed is on foster youth who have overcome immense barriers to make it to college because more than half drop out after two semesters, and only 4% graduate with a four-year degree by age 26. “The students have so many hurdles in their college life, and with a combination of career coaching, connections to networks, and holistic support, the young people can defy these devastating trends.” McCabe says.
Lassally and McCabe designed Ready to Succeed as a scholarship and internship program that provides youth impacted by foster care and low-income first-generation college students with the resources, relationships, and opportunities they need to launch successful careers and reach their full potential.
One of the many touching stories at Ready to Succeed is that of Regina. Without parents and being the primary caregiver to her two young siblings, Regina was nearing a breaking point. As a Scholar, her transformation went from “I can’t do it.” to “I did it and am excited to pay it forward.”
“She’s on her own, works as a research assistant, and is in the second year of a PhD in clinical psychology at the University of Southern California (USC),” McCabe says with an inspirational smile, staring at her picture on the wall.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families (ACF), there were over 400,000 foster youth in America in 2020 and 1.46 million first-generation college students.
The numbers have risen through the years, and they reflect how society views the “invisible population” of foster youth.
“I think there’s a lot of misunderstanding about who foster youth are, especially around the homelessness issue in the United States,” McCabe says. “And there’s no real generalized understanding about what they go through and how difficult it is for them.”
In light of a growing foster youth and first-generation college student population in need of support, Ready to Succeed continues to expand to bring on new Scholars. Each admitted student is paired with their very own career advisor, introduced to one or many of RTS’ 500+ volunteer professionals and employment partners, and placed in paid internships.
When it comes to coaching and securing employment, RTS has a network of well-established companies like Sony, HBO, Disney, Johnson& Johnson, AT &T, Cheesecake Factory, and many more. They also have Lucy Cherkasets, a brilliant mind in our coaching program who helps secure our employment partners. “Lucy came in as a volunteer, and she brought the best in class coaching program to us, and she also helps secure the employment partners,” Lassally says.
Through their holistic program, Ready to Succeed combines financial support, industry exposure, and job placement to empower first-generation and foster youth to overcome barriers and accomplish their goals.
Ready to Succeed would not have been here without facing and overcoming challenges. One of the biggest challenges was “biting more than they can chew.” With over 500,000 foster youths in the U.S., recruiting students can be complex.
“When we started, these numbers were so daunting. Half a million foster youth in the United States, 40,000 in L.A. County alone,” McCabe says.
However, by focusing on a model of care and specialized support that meets the needs of each Scholar, Ready to Succeed has continued to grow and show life-changing results. In 2022, 100% of students graduated, and over 90% secured full-time career jobs.
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Above all, Lassally measures the success and effectiveness of the program through the stories of current and alumni Scholars.
“Regina and other RTS Scholars are the true definition of the impact of our program. When they came in, they had lost hope. Some of them had kids, and others were homeless. We brought them in, nurtured and supported them through the program, and today, their lives took a better trajectory. I think the impact, the biggest lesson for me was like, wow, this has some serious impact for the individual students,” Lassally says.
With the Ready to Succeed program, students graduate, gain valuable skills through internships, and finally secure good jobs. In the long run, foster youth and other underrepresented students end the poverty cycle by achieving their goals and also mentoring undergraduate students in college. “For many students without our program, the cycle of poverty might continue,” Lassally says.
Now, in July, Ready to Succeed is thrilled to welcome its largest group of college-going foster youth into its program. “With the right support, students from underrepresented communities are graduating college, launching careers, and reaching their full potential. That’s Regina’s story, and it can now be the story of our 50 newest students!” Lassally concludes.
To learn more about how to help college-going foster youth and first-generation college students launch successful careers, visit www.readytosucceedla.org.
