Student Uses Past to ‘Advance’ Foster Care, Tour with Tyga

Being asked to go on tour with a popular recording artist might sound like a dream to some. However for April Vance, that dream turned into a reality.

Vance, a senior broadcast journalism major and the president and founder of the Advance Project, was personally asked to tour with Tyga and Chris Brown for their Reach Out and Represent or R.O.A.R., educational tour. The Advance Project, which was launched in April 2011, is a program geared towards helping foster at-risk children with their education, finances and social, mental and physical health.

The idea for Advance Project began when Vance was a child.

"My father died when I was six. After that my mother fell ill, and from the age of six to 15 my brother and I were placed in foster care," Vance said.

Vance, who said she was placed in nine different foster homes, attributes her upbringing to everything that she has

done in life.

"We [Vance and her brother] were fortunate enough to return back to my mother's custody when I was 15, which is a very rare case," Vance said. "But while I was in the foster care system, I got to meet so many people and experienced a lot."

Though there were times in foster care that were far from easy, Vance said she would not be who she is today without those experiences and interactions.

"My past has made my present," she said. "It's not a weakness for me but more of a propeller. When you are going through the system, you have to be quick on your feet; it's all about survival."

Vance stayed active throughout her middle and high school years, which eventually led to her acceptance to Howard with a full four-year scholarship.

"My parents always instilled in me that education is everything. An idle mind is mischief's playground," she said.

Vance works part time in the White House's Executive Office of the President: Communication Correspondence Office. While at work, her colleagues were so impressed with her work on the project that they presented her with the opportunity to host an event for the Congressional Black Caucus. The success of the CBC event led to her involvement with the R.O.A.R. Tour.

"Tyga and Chris Brown are very humble gentlemen," Vance said. "Our panels would mainly center on the importance of education, and they [Tyga and Brown] would sit in the audience and really listen and take notes."

The Advance Project is currently servicing and changing the lives of 65 young people, but Vance sees that number rapidly growing within the coming months.

"I made a promise to myself and my team that by February 2012, we will have served 200 foster care children of all ages," Vance said. Life after her December graduation will be a relatively smooth transition for Vance as she will spend all of her time promoting and marketing her foundation.

As for the children still in foster care, Vance wants them to know that life outside of the system does not have to be hard. "It's okay to be who you are, it's okay to accept your past," she said. "Don't be afraid. Use it to drive you to a life you want to live."