Social work grad wants to give back to 'the community that saved my life'

LOS ANGELES - With May being Foster Care Awareness Month, FOX 11 is celebrating college grads who've experienced foster care as a child.

Among the students walking in one of the six California State University, Los Angeles graduations this season is Xia Workman, a former foster youth.

The excitement she expressed, you might say, was... charming. "I am going to barf that's how excited I am. I am very very very excited."

What's next? Workman said she would like to get her Master's Degree in social work and become a licensed clinical social worker.

Xia Workman, left, and Dr. Will Wong, right, at the California State University, Los Angeles commencement ceremony (Christine Devine)

As a social worker, she wants to "give back to the community that saved my life."

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Workman was adopted by an Anaheim couple after living on the streets and then being placed in Orangewood Children's Home.

The family adopted two more girls and a boy. Their father has since passed away. Her two adoptive sisters attended the graduation ceremony.

Workman's professor, Dr. Will Wong, said he is extremely proud, and celebrates the support of her family.

Dr. Wong, too, is a Cal State grad, receiving his Master's Degree from the university in East Los Angeles.

A recent New York Times article named Cal State Los Angeles the number one university for upward mobility.