Ready To Succeed Empowers Underserved Students to Graduate College and Launch Successful Careers

Few foster youth and first-generation college students ever make it to their graduation. The numbers are dismal. As little as 4% of foster youth receive their college diploma, according to a recent College Pathways report. And only 20% of first-generation college-goers put on a cap and gown, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

“Making sure these underserved students graduate college and find a job is critically important because they have no safety net and most have no home to go back to,” says Romi Lassally, executive director and co-founder of Ready to Succeed (RTS).

As a first-generation college-goer herself, Lassally’s experience navigating the professional and educational worlds has informed RTS, a nonprofit dedicated to helping underrepresented students graduate college and secure career-track jobs at record rates. The holistic program provides  personalized career coaching, paid internship experiences, mental health and wellness support, and annual scholarship funding that covers basic needs. With the assistance and commitment of RTS, 90% of first-generation and foster youth graduate and 92% have a career-track job within six months of graduation. 

“These kids are strong. They have made it to college. But they are still likely to fail because there are obstacles at every turn,” says RTS Co-Founder Patrick McCabe. “It’s easy to take for granted all the things parents do from giving advice about finances to simply providing confidence. At Ready to Succeed, we are kind of like parents, and we focus our efforts on providing scholars with what they need, when they need it.”

Deborah became an RTS scholar in 2019. She was a bright, motivated student, who had been eagerly accepted into UCLA on scholarship. But at RTS they understand impressing an admissions board is just one of the many challenges at-risk students face on the road to success. 

“Getting into college is one thing, but being able to stay in school is a totally different thing,” says Deborah. “It was very hard without financial or family support.”

Deborah’s mother died in 2006, when she was just five years old. Without parental support to guide her, the odds were stacked against Deborah as they often are stacked against underserved youth. But with help from the team at RTS, Deborah graduated from UCLA this year. Soon she will start her Master of Education, on track to a career with the Los Angeles Unified School District. 

“To receive this support made me happy and overwhelmed with sentimental feelings because I wasn’t used to receiving this level of support,” says Deborah. “Ready to Succeed provided me with access to knowledge and personalized support that I wouldn’t have access to otherwise.”