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RIVERSIDE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SOCIAL SERVICES | 55

Social Services Supervisor Elizabeth Estrada, Monique Carrillo, Attorney Mentor Mary Reyna.

Since its inception, Project Graduate has helped 55 foster students in Riverside County graduate from high school with a diploma or GED. In 2024, Project Graduate helped four Riverside County youth achieve high school graduation, including Monique. This spring, she joined hundreds of students in her senior class, beaming with pride in her cap and gown, diploma in hand. She will be entering Riverside Community College in the Fall. Attorney Mary Reyna served as Monique’s mentor, meeting the teen at fast food restaurants, encouraging her to complete her school assignments, coming alongside to help her focus on what needed to be done. Reyna describes their relationship as a “gradual unfolding. “Because of her life experiences, Monique is not quick to form attachments – I found out quickly. I backed off and I let her get to know me and I got to know her at her speed.” Monique, who expresses gratitude for Reyna’s support, also received support from a team of partners, including Social Services Supervisor Elizabeth Estrada. “I knew I could trust her,” Monique says of her relationship with Estrada. “She promised she would be there for me. Ever since then, I’ve grown a connection with her, and she’s been there for me.”

The partnerships between the educational mentor, the judge at court, the foster family agency social worker and many others are key to helping youth in care, such as Monique, overcome the many hurdles they face, Estrada says.

“The consistency between all our partnerships has been everything.”

When you sit next to someone you care about, that’s when they can rise to the occasion of whatever they hope to accomplish. That to me has been the biggest benefit of seeing Monique

succeed and graduate. — Elizabeth Estrada Social Services Supervisor