Jocelyn Fenus

“I was a foster parent. I had left the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for 10 years. I felt lost, alone, and scared. Then, I had three kids dropped off at my front door, and I didn’t know what to do with myself. I felt even more lost and more alone. Then I finally got my butt in church. My mom told me, ‘Maybe you should just go to church, they have Primary and can help watch the kids.’ So I went to church, put my kids in Primary, and I found my way back. Maybe church is not for everybody, which is fine, but I found myself there. I found joy and happiness and stability in Christ.

“After a couple of years of being back in church, I did the research after adoption. With children that are in foster care, only 6% end up graduating with a bachelor’s degree, even less with an upper graduate degree. I didn’t want that for my kids, you know. I didn’t have a college degree; I struggled so hard to make it without one. I wanted something better for my kids. At least if they wanted that, they didn’t feel like it was out of reach. So I came back to school to be able to show them that that’s a possibility. It’s hard, but you can do it.

“So coming back to school and learning art all over again was something that really gave me a way to express myself, to express the love that I have for my children and for my Heavenly Father.”