Coach Mickey has been working with the Great Expectations program since it launched in 2008. He works as a single point of contact and support for former foster youth on his campus to help those students achieve success.
Coach Mickey
Central Virginia Community College
For Students:
Great Expectations
If you’ve experienced foster care, then you know that a major part of your adolescence is the search for someone who is willing to invest in your future. Here in Virginia, your search can end in success thanks to Great Expectations.
Today, the mean annual earnings projection for foster youth is only $13,989. Compare that to the $32,212 projected annual earnings for members of your peer group and it’s easy to see why Great Expectations aims to bridge this gap and help you prepare for lifelong career success.
The Great Expectations program began in 2008 with a generous challenge grant from the Fried family. The program, which began by serving students in five colleges, now reaches the lives of foster youth in 21 of Virginia’s community colleges. As of 2018, the Great Expectations program has served over 3,000 foster youth and now celebrates the graduation of more than 100 program participants per year.
"We want to see all Virginians moving forward. Investing in people who want to work, who want to be productive, is the right thing to do."
Michael Smith, Vice President of Valley Proteins
"Great Expectations expands educational opportunities and offers hope for a brighter future to an important group of deserving and disadvantaged young Virginians: youth transitioning out of the foster care system."
Anne Holton, Former Great Expectations Program Director and Former First Lady of Virginia
"Knowing that you have help means a great deal to someone like me who can see the future, but is not able to afford the path to get there."
Lisa Mullins, Davenport Fellow
"We want to give people who may not have thought they had a future in higher education an opportunity to earn family-sustaining wages."
Karen Barrs, EquipVA
"The biggest thing young people need is some kind of support. Somebody who can say, 'I believe in you, and I can help.'"
Barbara Fried, Great Expectations Program Founder
"Scholarships are a powerful vote of confidence that can spur talented students to unimagined heights—especially those young people who do not have a family history of attending college."
Gaye Montgomery, VFCCE Board Member
"We've all had days when a kind word or an unexpected smile from a stranger makes our day. I like to think that VFCCE scholarships go one step farther to 'make the day' for our students by making their dreams of attending college possible."
Karen Petersen, Former VCCS Executive Vice Chancellor
"Most people don’t realize how little it takes to change a student’s life."
Eleanor Saslaw, Virginia State Board for Community Colleges
"A gift to the Foundation empowers and changes lives."
Dorcas Helfant-Browning, Former VFCCE Board Chair