Introducing Faith Dale: 2022 Make it Happen Youth Excellence Award Winner

We are proud to introduce the winner of this year’s 2022 Make It Happen Youth Excellence Award: Faith Dale!

Each June, Make It Happen for Yolo County sponsors the Youth Excellence Award for one outstanding participant graduating from the Yolo County Independent Living Skills Program. The award winner is recognized based on academic merit, character and personal growth, and receives a $500 stipend for their hard work.

Faith could not be more deserving of this award. She entered foster care at age 12 due to abuse while she, her mother and sister were experiencing homelessness. For the next four years, separated from her sister, she was in and out of foster homes and group homes, frequently running away. At age 16, Faith decided to take control over her own life, as much as she could.

“I finally got to the point where I wanted to do better and have goals,” Faith said.

She started working toward her goals in a group home: She earned her driver’s license and decided she wanted a career in the medical field. At age 18, she left foster care, joined the Yolo County Independent Living Skills program and moved into her first apartment.

Missing her mom, she eventually moved in with her mom in Sacramento, and the two decided to move to El Paso, Texas, last year for a fresh start. Now age 20, Faith has a great relationship with her mom, who is a college student working full-time and interning as a social worker.

Faith recently graduated from the Independent Living Skills program and has been working to become a phlebotomist alongside her pre-nursing program at the local community college in El Paso. Her long-term goal is to become a trauma surgeon, and she plans to transfer to an EMT or health sciences program. She will use a significant amount of her Make It Happen Youth Excellence Award stipend toward purchasing a car for transportation to and from school. She hopes to eventually attend medical school in the Pacific Northwest.

“I’m very determined and really excited to be able to work in the health care field now with being in phlebotomy so I can get my foot in the door,” Faith said. “Honestly, I’m pretty proud of myself for where I’m at today. It’s taken a lot and I’m excited and grateful.”