words from grads

Getting Beyond the System participants are unique individuals– they come from all walks of life, have different goals, and have different ideas about how to get there. What unifies them is their strength and determination to reach their potential and succeed through self-advocacy. In spite of the fact that many have had discouraging academic experiences, they excel at the intellectual challenges offered in the seminar. Scroll down for some stories about our participants’ experiences in the seminar, including more about the informational interviews and where they are now:


Tanya, 18
I want to be a lawyer, specifically a district attorney, before I become a judge. Before entering the Getting Beyond the System Self-Advocacy Seminar, I knew that to be a lawyer I had to go to college but I didn’t know how much work it would be or how I would deal with any challenges that arose on that path to becoming a lawyer.

The Getting Beyond the System Seminar prepared me to more realistically reach my goal of being a lawyer in two ways. First, the weekly meetings gave me the opportunity to improve my critical thinking skills and develop the sense of discipline necessary to succeed. In this environment, I learned how to solve problems and meet the needs of both parties involved.

The second component of Getting Beyond the System Seminar that really opened doors for me was the informational interview. The informational interview helps you to see your goals more clearly. It gives you an honest account of what you are going to have to endure during your journey to meet your goals.

I had the opportunity to meet with Dan Simonettie, a lawyer for HBO. Mr. Simonetti provided me with advice ranging from how to pay for school to how to take advantage of internship opportunities. Because of the success of this experience, I plan to continue to use informational interviews in the future to learn about my career choice.

Antoine, 20
I am currently a student at the Fashion Institute of Technology. I want to be an animator or an illustrator. I am taking courses in both so that I can decide. I enrolled in the seminar so that I could meet other teens that were in the same position as me. The seminar has helped me plan to reach my goals and also given me the opportunity to interact with my peers.

The most important thing was the informational interview that YAC set up for me. I got to meet a very successful children’s book illustrator. The experience was really great. I met him at his studio. He showed me the materials that he used and even gave me some copies of the books he had illustrated. In all he spent 3 hours with me! This experience really motivated me to become an illustrator and gave me a real idea of what my life could be like. I have already used a lot of Brian’s advice in picking out my classes for the fall semester.

Shanice, 16
I know I am young but I am serious about being prepared for leaving foster care. I have heard too many sad stories about kids leaving and not having plans and then getting into trouble. I have a lot of things I am interested in, but I’ve been thinking about going into computers.

For my informational interview I met with the head of technology at a bank. The office was really fancy with mirrors everywhere and all kinds of computers. He was really nice to me and answered all of my questions. He showed me around the office and encouraged me to keep in touch in the future. I was so nervous for the interview but I felt prepared and afterwards I was really proud of myself.