4 years in Virginia's foster care system
18 years old
He/Him/His
While in the foster care system, Melvin has done some extraordinary things. He currently serves as President on an advocacy group called SpeakOut which helps to bring many issues in Virginia’s foster care system to Legislature.
Melvin is also very involved in his Independent placement agency UMFS where he works with Project Life which helps youth by providing critical skills they will need when they transition out of care. Within Project life, he has been able to help facilitate workshops and engage in various speaking engagements to help build up other foster youth. Melvin currently attends Old Dominion University where he is studying Human Services with a minor in Psychology with the intention of working on Capitol Hill as an elected official in the future. While
working to obtain his bachelor’s degree, he has created an organization called Foster-U which seeks to help foster youth strive for higher education.
Melvin is a resilient young leader with the determination to create world change. He has always committed to bettering himself and his current/former foster youth peers; it’s not what you went through that defines you, it’s what you learn from the situation, that shapes you.
