Cherish Thomas

Ms. Cherish Thomas is a 23 year old, foster care alumni and recent graduate of the  University of Michigan Sociology and African American Studies undergraduate programs. She has been recognized as a Julia Eder and Blavin Scholar. As the first graduate from the Blavin Scholar program, Ms.Thomas has worked as a part of the Blavin Scholar Design Team in developing programs to support aged-out foster care youth who begin their studies at the U of M. During her undergraduate years, Ms. Thomas was involved in many programs designed to support and encourage disadvantaged youth. She worked with Dr. Bill Cosby as a panelist and organizer for the Cosby Conversation Teen Summit in Detroit and has served as a volunteer teacher at the Washtenaw County Juvenile Detention Center. She recently completed an independent research project and has written an article based on her findings, entitled "Hearing the Cry of our Youth: Foster Care and Higher Education." This research was used in the proposal for the Blavin Scholars Program at the University of Michigan and has been submitted to various publications. Ms.Thomas has been featured in a variety of newsletters and newspapers; and has received numerous awards and recognitions, for her outstanding research and for her dedication to youth advocacy. Currently Ms.Thomas is a motivational speaker, youth advocate and a student in the School of Social Work’s Graduate program, as a Child Welfare Scholar. Her ultimate goal is to work as a liaison between the education, child welfare, and justice systems in order to promote legislative reform of these systems.

To contact Cherish and her wonderful organization "Cherish Our Youth" Connect with her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/COYFoundation