Growing up throughout the state of California in foster care, Steven saw the many issues that affected himself and youth around him. Substance use and youth voices were some of those issues. Shortly after he began attending Central East High School his junior year, he discovered YLI’s Friday Night Live Program as a club on campus. Not long after, he became club president and used his role, passion, and voice to create positive and effective change in regards to underage substance use prevention in his school and community. His school site completed campaigns with information in the format of coloring books, posters, radio PSAs, and much more. This then opened the window of him joining YLI’s Youth Advocacy Leadership League(YALL) to do the same things but on a county level.
He now serves YLI’s Redefining Equity through Policy 559(REP559) as a Program Assistant for Madera. Steven now goes to California State University, Fresno and majors in Biology to pursue his goal in becoming a Nurse Practitioner.
Beyond the scope of work, Steven is a first generation college student determined to beat the odds against him as an aging foster youth. He loves the ocean and anything nature and loves serving his community in any way he can by volunteering at numerous churches, food drives, and working as a staff at YLI.