Michael McKernan’s heart pounded as he approached the community college in Gallatin, Tenn. and the exam that would decide his future. He had recently turned 18, which aged him out of foster care.
McKernan, a lanky jokester who speaks with a Southern twang, had dropped out of high school and needed to test for the GED that day or risk losing a shot at state-funded scholarships for college. He knew he couldn’t afford tuition as an overnight stocker at Walmart.
It was December 11, the last opportunity that year to take the test in his county. He’d nervously put it off, staying up late with thick practice books and Monster energy drinks. He wanted to go farther than the parents who abandoned him.
His father was in prison. His mother met a man, he says, and left him with his step-father. His step-father lost his job, got evicted and crashed on a friend’s couch. And his aunt, his third temporary guardian in three years, ran off with her boyfriend. His younger siblings — 7, 9, and 13 — landed in a separate foster home.
Life turned around when McKernan met William Childress, 36, a specialist who guides former foster kids transitioning to adulthood. Childress asked if he’d like to join YVLifeSet, a program in Tennessee and six other states for young adults who outgrow foster custody.