Los Angeles

Joseph Mariscal

He/Him/His

Joseph Mariscal is a Mexican-American student attending Citrus College and majoring in political science, with aspirations to become a lawyer. He is also a peer partner at Eggleston Youth Center. Joseph has been dedicated to helping and guiding youth on their journeys of becoming young adults. He has also spent time working with DCFS as a youth worker.

He’s very ardent and devoted to helping youth but also making a positive influence in each youth’s life. Spending time growing up in our child welfare system and working with our youth placement population, he understands the most important thing is trying to understand our youth for who they are and who they wish to become in life. He understands the challenges and hardships foster youth go through. He puts his real life situations into perspective to help advocate and support foster youth.

Joseph has been very involved with the foster care system from his time at DCFS, to working at Eggleston Youth Center as a peer partner. He has tutored, guided, encouraged and challenged our youth to always strive for more. “A situation doesn’t define you, it’s about how you go about the situation that does.”

Growing up in East Los Angeles and throughout LA County in poverty and not having strong role models, Joseph never thought going to college was ever a possibility for him. He hopes to be a strong role model to whoever he comes across. He wants to start the idea and pave a path in our deprived youth to go to college, to show them it’s possible, and to set them up with meaningful life skills. His dream is to make a positive impact on as many people as he can and see more foster youth attend college.