Grace Ward spent four years in foster care before enrolling at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2021. On campus, 200 miles south of her hometown of Rockford, she felt alone.

Now a junior studying animal sciences, Ward is part of the state’s new Youth in Care-College Advocate Program, or Y-CAP, which pairs peer advocates like Ward with other college students who have experienced foster care. The goal is for the advocates to check in regularly with their mentees, help them navigate college life, and ultimately provide a much-needed support system.

Alejandra Campoverdi grew up with her immigrant mother, aunts, and grandparents in a crowded Santa Monica apartment. Her story is one of success won through ambition, hard work, and talent, which enabled her rise “from welfare to the White House,” as she puts it in a new memoir, “First Gen.”

“First Gen” is Campoverdi’s story, but she also wants her book to resonate with others who are the first or only person in their family, community, or social demographic group to cross a threshold. The “First and Onlys,” she calls them.

Illustration: Emma Kumer

It’s finally here. October marks the resumption of federal student loan payments for tens of millions of people who have benefited from a pandemic-induced pause for more than three years.

A lot has changed during that time, including the addition of a new repayment plan and the exit of a few student loan servicing companies.