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College Bound 2026
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Samantha Harmer: Triple Threat
How One College Bound Student is Breaking
Growing up, Samantha didn’t know anyone who had been to college. She hardly knew anyone who had finished high school. Her college aspirations were fueled, not by anyone she knew in real life, but by the fictional characters she saw on-screen in television and movies.
“I saw the success of the characters who went to college and I was inspired.”
For Samantha, education became an outlet, a clear path forward. Like for the characters on screen, college offered a chance at a profession, a meaningful income, an opportunity to better herself. It was also a chance for her to break the cycle of foster care that had seized her family and separated her from her mom and nine siblings by hundreds of miles – from Utah to San Diego.
Despite these circumstances, Samantha excelled in school. She remained focused and, in the end, Hollywood couldn’t have scripted a better outcome for her. In December, she will graduate from University of California San Diego with three bachelor’s degrees: Political Science, Communications and Sociology. She’s a triple threat!.
Statistics say that Samantha is an anomaly; that former foster youth are more likely to become homeless than to graduate from college; that less than 6 percent will achieve a single degree, let alone three. But Samantha refuses to be defined by statistics. And she doesn’t want her peers to be either.
“[the statistics] almost validate imposter syndrome, like ‘I don’t belong here. I’m very different from everybody else, from all these people who are surprised that I’m here.’ The second someone knows that you’re from foster care, they’re shocked that you’re going to college. I can’t tell you how many times people asked me, ‘Are you sure you want to go to UCSD? I think that might be a little too hard.’”
It was hard, but Samantha had the support of a consistent and caring community to help her achieve her goals. She joined Just in Time’s 2018 College Bound cohort shortly after graduating high school. And for Samantha it really was “Just in Time.” Her foster placement had become controlling and toxic. She had run away finding herself, once again, in survival mode.
“I didn’t have a lot of money. I didn’t have transportation. I didn’t really know how to apply for jobs. My foster placement didn’t let me work when I was in high school. I didn’t’ really know how to do a lot.”
Samantha petitioned several organizations for resources, but there was always some box she couldn’t check. Having entered foster care outside of California disqualified her from the majority of programs. And then she found Just in Time.
“I remember my first impression of JIT was just so amazing. Everyone was so kind and welcoming. I knew that this was the environment that I wanted to be in. My first year of college, I used to always ride the trolley from UCSD to Just in Time. There were really good workshops on time management and all kinds of things! I wanted to get as much knowledge as I could because I didn’t quite know what I needed to do to be successful.”
Samantha is not done achieving. She plans to apply to a duel master’s program at UC Irvine for Forensic Psychology and Law, and later to law school. Her goal is to start her own law firm representing minors within the juvenile court system.
During her time at JIT, Samantha has participated in Career Horizons For Young Women, Financial Fitness and Pathways to Financial Power.
