Andre Theus will don his cap and gown June 13 at UC Santa Barbara with a list of accomplishments that includes lobbying in Washington and Sacramento, leadership in student government, and numerous honors and awards. Perhaps best of all, he graduates with a job in business development waiting for him at Oracle in San Francisco.

It’s a record worthy of pride for any student. But as a former foster youth, his prospects might have been very different.

As UC's newly minted grads look forward to embarking on a bright new chapter, we profile a few whose extraordinary grit and determination brought them to the place they are today.

Most evenings you can find UCLA student Deanna Jordan at home on her computer, engrossed in assignments and class readings. This may sound typical for any dedicated college student, but most undergrads don’t have a trio of elementary school-age children diligently doing homework alongside them.