“I’m excited and very blessed to live the life I’ve always wanted to live, and I am open to new opportunities that come my way.” — Christian Nemecek
Christian before Senior Prom.
This is a big year for Christian Nemecek. After being in the foster care system for 8 years, Christian was adopted by his foster parent, Monica Nemecek—three days shy of his 18th birthday—and has started as a full-time student at the University of Illinois Chicago.
He was one of 50 students selected from 150 to be awarded an Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Scholarship, which will cover tuition and fees, as well as provide him a monthly stipend for books and costs outside of other financial aid.
Christian’s accomplishments are especially significant when noting the statistics. Annually 23,000 foster children in the nation age out of the system with no permanent family. For most this leads to a tragic future— 20% are immediately homeless. Only half will find gainful employment and less than 3% will go to college.
“We are so proud of what he’s been able to accomplish. He’s worked hard and deserves the scholarship,” Colleen Grusecki, his foster care caseworker says. “And he’s such a fun kid to be around.”
While attending York Community High School, Christian was involved in the school’s theater and the music program. One of his musical compositions, Phone in a Blender, can be heard on Spotify.
“He’s extremely creative,” Colleen says. “Christian designs jewelry. He has formulated a hair dye—it changes color in the sun—and he has patented it. He wants to invent a new genre of music that is different than Pop. He bounced a couple genre names around with me. He also said he considered being a singer, but he thinks it might be too glamorous for him.”
This summer, he started his studies at UIC with a math class and plans to major in Music Business.
He also works at Shake Shack and plans to continue working during the school year.
In addition, Christian is service-oriented. He serves as past president of Hephzibah’s Youth Advisory Board. The board engages and empowers fostered youth ages 12-21, to enhance their leadership skills, life skills and opportunities for advocacy.
We are excited for Christian and glad we could play a part in preparing him for new opportunities.
While Christian is considered fun, creative and service-oriented, he’s also known by our staff as the kid who LOVES Oreos, especially those he has imported from Japan.
Upcoming Info Sessions