An uphill battle: Without parental support, finishing college is hard
Sophia Calhoun was 9 years old the day the world changed. Her mother died, leaving her dad to care for Calhoun and her younger sister. When her father passed away four years later, the two girls were officially branded orphans, wards of the state.
Student center aims to reach parentless students, increase graduation rates
On virtually any college campus, they’re there — students who have recently exited foster care, are homeless, wards of the state, or orphaned. And most of the time, they’re invisible, blending in with the student body at large and keeping their struggles wrapped in a tight armor of privacy.
A new initiative at Western Carolina University, however, will reach out and serve those students in a way that no other college in the state is doing.
