The Backpack Challenge Closing Ceremony was held August 26 at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and CBS Philly covered the event.

18-year-old Leidy said there are a lot of misconceptions about older kids in foster care. “I definitely think that people don’t expect foster youth to make it this far, to make it to college, not even graduate from high school.”

Yet Leidy did graduate, from Abraham Lincoln. She’s now a freshman majoring in psychology at Temple University. To see a video about the Backpack Challenge, click here.