Many children dread having hearing the alarm clock in the morning, heralding the beginning of another day of classes.

For 17-year-old Alex, of Goshen, school was always an enjoyable time, providing an opportunity for him to show what he was made of.

“I loved going to school,” he said. “It was kind of an escape for me.”

Alex has been part of the foster care system since he was 6 years old, living with more than 10 different foster families in the area during that period. Despite the instability at home, though, his schooling provided him with an avenue to succeed.

“Education became my freedom, my catalyst for success,” he said.

After only three years attending classes at New Haven High School, Alex received his diploma, earning a full-ride scholarship to Goshen College, where he plans to study nursing in the fall. In the meantime, he is attending summer classes at the University of Chicago.

One of the people that Alex attributes his success over the past decade to has been his Court Appointed Special Advocate, Reva Noel, who stuck by him during his entire time in foster care.

“She was always there to speak for me,” Alex said. “When something wasn’t working out for me and I needed a change, she fought for

that, every time.”

Alex was the guest speaker at this year’s eighth annual Cass County CASA fundraiser, held Saturday evening at the Edward Lowe Foundation in Cassopolis. The money raised through the various auctions held during the event goes toward funding the two full-time staff members in the county office, who coordinate the efforts of the 21 volunteers helping the 36 kids currently enrolled in the program.

The CASA program was brought to the county in 1995 by Cass County Family Judge Sue Dobrich, as a means of giving the area’s foster children a stable advocate, both in court and in their lives. At the moment, there are around 150 kids in the county who are enrolled in foster care.

“CASAs provide a special voice for children in the courtroom,” Dobrich said. “Lawyers are a voice and provide an essential role as well, but they’re not there in the child’s all the time like CASAs are.”

Providing children with a path for future success in an unstable and unclear present is one of the main goals of the program’s volunteers, Dobrich said.

“We want our foster kids in Cass County to have the same things that my kids have,” Dobrich said.

Alex is one of the many success stories that the program can share. However, the road there wasn’t easy for him. Not only did he have to overcome issues with gangs and other problems in his neighborhood when he was younger, but he also had to deal with abusive foster siblings and even the break-up of one set of foster parents.

“Since I’ve been in foster care, there were things I witnessed that I shouldn’t have,” he said.

Despite the hardships, Alex had a one goal with which he strived to achieve: to earn a doctorate degree like his grandfather, Chalmus. After receiving his bachelor’s degree, he plans on going to medical school to study neurosurgery, he said.

“I want to do something to challenge my mind, and to help others,” Alex said. “For the rest of my life, I can make a positive impact in other people’s lives.”

Alex is currently living with his grandparents while commuting to school during the summer. Both of them of have told Alex how proud they are of his achievements, he said.

“For someone to tell me they’re proud of what I’ve become, that’s the biggest compliment you can get,” he said.

Alex offered several pieces of advice for children in similar situations as his own, asking them to seek help if they need it, and to not keep their feelings bottled up. Most importantly, though, they should always fight for what makes them happy.

“If you do that, there’s no way you can be knocked down,” Alex said.