Hope Realized-Brandon Foster’s Story
By Tabitha Ervin,
Editorial Director
Brandon Foster grew up on the southside of Fort Wayne and was raised by his adopted mom, Arzie Foster, who was a single parent. He was adopted at 6 months and she tried to put him around people in the community and at church who could support him. He remembers attending Summit City Church and having positive role models there. He also remembers KC’s Basketball Camp at McMillan Park. He struggled in school and was always trying to figure out who he was and his identity as a young man.
He also recalled encounters with the late Greg Mitchell who coached him although he was a terrible player, Greg appreciated that he loved basketball and instilled a positive work ethic in him. Also at Lakeside, Clarence Thomas, who was one of the only black administrators at the time and Denita Washington supported Brandon on his journey.
Brandon also participated in a program called Boys to Men which started to help him with his identity outside of hip hop. He remembers trips to Pochagen Park sledding and various bus trips with a mixture of students. Although he had these opportunities, he still struggled with his identity and ended up getting in trouble.
He landed at Wood Youth Center (currently ACJC) because of the trouble he was getting into. Once released, he went to Yoder House which was run by Fletcher Upshaw. This is where Brandon’s life began to turn the corner. Fletcher cared and got involved personally. He encouraged Brandon to go to college after his stint in the group home and that he would support him with the payments.
Fletcher helped Brandon raise money for school and told Brandon to just worry about his grades and he would help with room and board, which he did. When Brandon came home for the summers, he worked with Fletcher at the group homes.
Now Brandon is studying to receive his Ph. D from Havard. He went from graduating from Northrop with a 1.2 GPA to Havard, one of the top schools in the nation. He has achieved his Bachelors and Masters Degrees and been able to work at several schools as a teacher and administrator over the years. I was able to zoom with Brandon about his life and where he is now and some encouragement he wanted to share.
Ervin: What an incredible journey! Thanks for talking with me today!
Foster: I appreciate this time and sharing my story to encourage others. I know personally that you might finish last but once you find your identity, you can soar! It wasn’t easy and without a number of people in my corner, believing in me, I would not have succeeded. It wasn’t easy at all. I remember Lawrence and Todd from Wood supporting me while I was there.
Ervin: What an incredible story you have. I have been spending an hour visiting young ladies at ACJC for lunch and your message encourages me to know it’s the right thing to do so thank you.
Foster: I believe that everyone should be helping everyone. Once I had enough people supporting me, I turned my life around and started believing in myself. Then the feeling of success started driving me. I remember my first A in a summer college class which made me feel good. I applied to Harvard because I was thinking what’s the highest level I can go.
I remember my various graduations with my mom and aunt attending, she never missed a graduation and that made me proud to have that support.
I also was able to briefly chat with Fletcher about the role he played in Brandon’s story..
He was born and raised in Fort Wayne and attended IU Bloomington for his degree in criminal justice and eventually attained a masters in business. He grew up in Chapel Oaks and remembers when his friends would disappear or someone would show up at their house and then they would not return.
At the young age of 23, he began working at the Wood Youth Center then Yoder House and managing the programs Brandon would eventually participate in. He only lasted 2 weeks at Wood because at the time he had two cousins there and when he had to lock them down at night, he realized he couldn’t do that job.
He now owns his own group homes, 2 for boys and 1 for girls ages 14-17 where he promotes independent living and education. He also runs a fatherhood engagement program to support fathers with kids in the system. He teaches them how to be a better father as he remembers being a young father with no support.
Fletcher's focus is to help keep youth from being locked up. He said, “if you can see it, you can do it”.
He remembers meeting Brandon and that he had some challenges but that he bought into the program. He said, “When it came time for graduation, I worked to get Brandon into the Groups program and he was denied but instead got into the Bridges Program at Indiana Tech. He was disappointed for not getting into the Groups program and pushed himself harder. He was able to get a Yoder House Scholarship which helped him with his college tuition.
This is an incredible story of hope, perseverance, belief and faith. Thank you both for your time and sharing Brandon’s incredible journey. It shows us all that anything is possible when you put your mind to it!
