Stevens is the recipient of the CSU Trustee Award for Outstanding Achievement, which comes with an $8,000 award, as well as a $10,000 William Randolph Hearst Foundation Scholarship.
For Stevens, the recognition still feels unreal.
“There was a time in my life when I was homeless, justice-involved, struggling with addiction, and trying to get my son back,” she says. “I never imagined I would someday be in graduate school receiving an award like this.”
The recognition has allowed her to reflect on how far she’s come.
Stevens grew up in the rural Northern California community of Red Bluff, where she was exposed to addiction, trauma, the criminal justice system, and family loss. Those experiences shaped much of her early adulthood and eventually contributed to her own struggles with addiction, homelessness, and the prospect of prison.
Then she found education.
“It gave me something to work towards,” she adds. “The more I accomplished, the more I started seeing myself as worthy. School became one of the places where I could see that I was capable of more than I ever thought I was.”
Support from her social worker was instrumental, and the opportunity to serve others motivates Stevens to pursue a career in social work. Above all, being a mother is what continues to motivate her.
“My ‘why’ is my son,” Stevens says. “He gives me a reason to want more for myself and to build a different life for both of us,” she says. “A lot of what I do now, from my education to my career, comes back to wanting to give him the kind of stability and safety I did not always have growing up.”
“My son has watched me go through school for a big part of his life. He has seen the homework, the stress, the late nights, connections with classmates that I now call my close friends, attended graduations, and all the time that has gone into it. I think it is important for him to see what has come from all of that because he has been part of this journey with me from the jump.”
The CSU Trustee’s award underscores her incredible journey.
“Receiving this award feels like the general support that I did not have when I was younger,” Stevens explains. “It helps me continue through my Social Work program without carrying as much of the financial stress on my own. But it also reminds me that there are people who believe in what I am working toward.”
Stevens’ goal is to earn her MSW, become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and perhaps even pursue a doctorate—something she says she would have never imagined for herself.
She hopes her story reaches others who may feel like they have too many barriers in front of them. “I hope my journey offers others a glimmer of hope and serves as a reminder that change is always within reach no matter how challenging the path may seem,” Stevens says.
“There were setbacks and struggles, and the road often felt uncomfortable. But I am grateful for the people and programs that gave me opportunities along the way, because some of those opportunities changed my life. I am proud of where my son and I are now, but I also know I am still building what comes next for me.”