International Student Foundation

At just eleven years old, Tiblets picked up her backpack and left behind her small village in war-torn Eritrea, where the community was regularly plagued by famine and where girls were often forced into marriage at the age of 15. Like her older siblings who had already left the village, Tiblets wanted a better life for herself. “One morning in 2013, I picked up my backpack like I was going to school and headed to Ethiopia,” she says. “I didn’t tell my parents I was leaving. My eyes teared up because I knew if I crossed the border, there would be no going back. ” 

Tiblets was alone. After three days at a border station, fighting for scraps of “trash food” with the dogs and pigs that ran through the compound, Tiblets was transferred to the Adi Harush refugee camp in Ethiopia. There she lived in limbo for the next three years, not knowing where her next destination would be. She shared a small house with ten other children, though there were far fewer beds. “After three years at the camp, my case manager told me I was going to America,” she says. “My heart jumped like a frog. UNHCR took me to the airport. Because I had never been to a fancy place like the airport, when I arrived, I thought I was in heaven.”After a few more days of travel, and as her plane taxied to the hangar in a foreign country, Tiblets began the next leg of her journey right here in North Texas.

“I had no idea where I was. I began my new life with people I had never seen. My biggest challenge was that I didn’t know any English. When people started talking to me, I couldn’t respond.”— Tiblets, ISF Scholar

Because she had no one waiting for her in Texas, Tiblets was placed in foster care. She moved through the system until she was placed with her third family. With them, she found a home. 

As she was preparing to enter UNT, her foster sister told her about ISF. Her case manager encouraged her to apply to our programs, and soon after that, we were thrilled to welcome her into our ISF community as an ISF-Texas scholar.

“I’m here at UNT because of them. I was in high school, but my skill was at a middle school level, so they pushed me to improve. They paid for tutoring, they would come home from work and help me with my English. That’s why I succeeded because I had that support. I had a family so I could go to college and have a great life.”

For over 15 years, the International Student Foundation has served youth like Tiblets who have spent time in the foster care system. Many of these young people lack the support systems and life-skills training they need as they enter college and prepare for the next chapter of their lives.

On average, over 1,000 students will emancipate out of the Texas foster care system every year. During this time, they face significant barriers to entering a healthy, productive adulthood, which often results in unemployment, homelessness, and incarceration. The statistics are bleak: 97% of these youth will slip through the cracks.

That’s where we come in. ISF leverages the power of education, mentoring, and leadership development to empower students to do what less than 3% of foster care students achieve: a college degree.  A college or vocational degree unlocks new opportunities for each of these youth and serves as the starting blocks to a life of fulfillment and significance.While less than 3% of foster youth in America will achieve a college degree, over 85% of ISF students successfully complete their college or trade school programs. Enabling foster youth to complete their next steps in education and training successfully makes ISF a critical partner to youth impacted by foster care.

We are proud to support courageous and hard-working youth like Tiblets, because we believe each and every one of these young people deserve the opportunity to develop the training and know-how to chase their dreams.

Now in her second year at UNT studying kinesiology, Tiblets has benefitted greatly as an ISF-Texas scholar and has a deep appreciation for the mentorship and leadership opportunities that ISF provides.

“These experiences have helped me grow as a person and develop the skills I need to succeed in my career and personal life,” she says.“Additionally, being part of the ISF community has been incredibly rewarding. I have met so many inspiring individuals who share my passion for education and excellence, and I feel fortunate to have these connections and friendships.”