{"id":114134,"date":"2019-07-31T10:13:21","date_gmt":"2019-07-31T16:13:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/?p=114134"},"modified":"2019-08-02T09:11:24","modified_gmt":"2019-08-02T15:11:24","slug":"alumni-profile-astride-bs-19-advocating-for-foster-youth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/?p=114134","title":{"rendered":"Alumni Profile: Astride (Business ’19) advocating for foster youth"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Astride<\/a>
Astride Mukabagula, second from left, poses for a group photo with Rep. Jason Crow, center.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Astride Mukabagula\u2019s goals were clearly defined. She would attend college and be the first in her family to earn her degree. She did just that. Now, two months after graduating from UCCS, she is working toward another goal \u2013 becoming an influential voice for youth in the foster care system.<\/p>\n

A three-hour flight from Colorado to Washington, D.C. would be her springboard. Astride was eager to sit among peers as a delegate at the National Foster Youth Institute Shadow Day, an annual event giving current and former foster youth the opportunity to meet and speak with their members of Congress about child welfare issues.<\/p>\n

Shadow Day for Astride would be more than a trip to the nation\u2019s capital. It was a declaration for the platform she boldly and proudly accepted as her passion \u2013 a passion she developed from personal experience.<\/p>\n

\"Astride<\/a>
Astride Mukabagula takes a picture with Rep. Jahana Hayes during the National Foster Youth Institute Shadow Day.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Astride was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo and came to the U.S. in 2013 as a 17-year-old refugee.<\/p>\n

When she arrived in the states she was placed with a foster family in Colorado Springs.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy first meal in the U.S. was pepperoni pizza,\u201d Astride said. \u201cMy foster family were all really sweet but I didn\u2019t want to eat the pizza because it looked odd. I never had pizza before.\u201d<\/p>\n

This was the first of many unfamiliar experiences for Astride. And attending the conference in D.C. was another.<\/p>\n

Most new experiences did not frighten Astride, she is someone who sees opportunity in challenges. She likes discovering new and accepts obstacles as part of growth. That is why she aims to open a business someday.<\/p>\n

Astride hopes to establish a nonprofit supporting foster youth who age out of the system, because this was her story.<\/p>\n

The desire to open her own business manifested as a young girl in Africa.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was 15 years old and owned my own jewelry boutique in Uganda. I enjoyed being exposed to the freedom of making my own business decisions without anyone else\u2019s help,\u201d Astride said. \u201cI loved the interaction that I had with people while running my business.\u201d<\/p>\n

Focusing her entrepreneurial aspirations on foster youth became clear. Astride was grateful for the support from her foster parents, but there were several unknowns spiraling through her head after turning 18 \u2013 where would she live and how would she support herself?<\/p>\n

Those questions were answered but they didn\u2019t come easy. Astride became self-sufficient with some support along the way \u2013 she was determined to thrive.<\/p>\n

When asked about her experience, Astride shares aging out of the foster care system does not come with an instruction manual. And this was her priority during the conference \u2013 addressing support for foster youth after they age out.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all can make changes and help young people. It starts with a few of us and then we\u2019ll see many who then also help to make a difference,\u201d Astride said.<\/p>\n

\"Astride<\/a>
Astride Mukabagula with Marcus Scribner of “Black-ish”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Attending the conference was truly life-changing for Astride.<\/p>\n

\u201cI spoke to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, met Reps. Jahana Hayes and Jason Crow, and even met Marcus Scribner from the TV show Blackish,\u201d Astride said.<\/p>\n

Her excitement for her future has been elevated and she looks forward to witnessing foster care transformed during her life time. What\u2019s next for Astride? She\u2019ll return to UCCS in the fall to pursue a master’s in accounting.<\/p>\n

Outside of her studies, Astride will continue being a voice for foster youth and speak on the topic within the various spaces she enters.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy passions and ambitions have always been different,\u201d Astride said. \u201cWe need everyone to help with the foster care system to give young people better lives. And I plan to do just that!\u201d<\/p>\n

Editor’s Note: Astride proudly shared she is now a U.S. citizen. Her citizenship ceremony was held April 2019.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Astride Mukabagula\u2019s goals were clearly defined. She would attend college and be the first in her family to earn her degree. (More)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":114194,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1,47],"tags":[53,61,107,40],"class_list":["post-114134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-education-and-public-affairs","tag-academic-affairs","tag-advancement","tag-alumni-relations","tag-college-of-business"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/astride-crow.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1mBpJ-tGS","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=114134"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114134\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":114548,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114134\/revisions\/114548"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/114194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=114134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=114134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=114134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}