Sometimes you meet a young person who makes such a powerful impression that you want to vault forward a few decades to see how much they lifted others and elevated our world.
Maddison Crump is one of those people. At age 21 she has logged over a dozen years of making a difference. A self-described “firecracker” as a child, she stood up to schoolyard bullies and peppered her teachers with questions. Her grades were good and her ability to listen to others was exceptional.
“I always had this sense of knowing when something was off with people,” she said.
She joined a youth service group at age 8 and was a state leader by 19. At UC Merced, Crump parlayed empathy, purpose and determination into a college career of providing peer support to other students in need of it.
Crump has done this as a child of need herself, raised by her grandparents because her father and mother, as she described it, “were on the wrong track in life.” She was 18 months old and her brother nearly age 3 when their dad’s folks took them in.
“I was very blessed to be raised by my grandparents. They’re my biggest supporters,” Crump said.
She is set to graduate in May with a bachelor’s degree and seven semesters as an employee of the university’s Calvin E. Bright Success Center, which supports all students but provides structured support to those whose backgrounds include foster care, undocumented status or incarceration.
Crump spent the last year at the center in a job she created for herself, building bridges between targeted programs, ensuring students receive the help they need and turning empathy into action.
The idea for the umbrella role formed as she worked as a coordinator for the center’s Guardian Scholar program for students who, like her, had been in the foster system.
“I saw students who overlap,” she said. A Guardian Scholar may have parents in prison, which tapped the Bobcats Underground Scholars program. They might be first-generation college students from low-income backgrounds served by the Fiat Lux program.
“I wanted to see how we could do a better job of supporting them in a unified way,” Crump said.
The center created for her the role of fellow for belonging and resilience. Crump meets at least once a week with student staff who represent the Bright Success Center’s programs. They work out new ways to collaborate. They plan events that reinforce a sense of belonging for every student, but especially for those who face additional burdens.
“It’s super satisfying,” Crump said.
In January, the University of California Board of Regents presented Crump with its Foster Youth Award, recognizing her work at the center. A few weeks later she was recognized by the Merced City Council as friends and co-workers looked on.
“I've seen how she's able to establish rapport with scholars. She's an amazing mentor,” said one of them, Edith Ramirez, the Bright Success Center’s associate director of belonging and resilience. “The scholars continue to connect with her even after they graduate.”
Crump knows students from foster backgrounds face long odds. Only 3% of foster youth in California earn a college degree, according to the latest statistics. Though Crump and her brother were raised by relatives, they faced many of the same challenges.
“With older parental figures you have to be more independent. I mean, they’ve already raised a generation of kids,” she said of John and Patricia Crump, who are in their late 70s.
“That was the only life I’ve known. And I’m thriving,” Crump said. “There are people who use what they go through as an excuse and people who use it as motivation. I use it as a reason to work harder.”
The Crumps live in Rialto, a city between Fontana and San Bernardino in California’s Inland Empire. When Maddison was in elementary school, they looked for a youth organization for her to join. They chose the Order of the Rainbow for Girls, an international community service organization.
She loved it.
“It was like a second family. I wasn’t used to having ‘sisters’ or younger adults in my life.” She learned about mentoring and being mentored. Her chapter did year-long projects like raising money for new habitats at Fresno Chaffee Zoo. As a sophomore at UC Merced, she was named a Rainbow Girls state officer, representing California and speaking at national events.
The transition from home in Southern California to college in the San Joaquin Valley was rough initially. She started to gain her footing after joining the Bright Success Center staff as a Guardian Scholars coordinator in the spring of her first year.
“I felt more of a sense of belonging,” she said. “Most of all, I couldn’t let my grandparents down. I’m the type of person who when I start something, I’m going to finish it.”
Crump is set to graduate in May with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. She continues to work at the Bright Success Center but has added another role: Merced County court-assigned special advocate for foster youth. Since December, she has worked with children of high school age, serving as their voices before a judge.
It keeps her busy. Well, busier. And CASA prepares her for whatever comes after UC Merced, such as a youth program coordinator at the high school or college level.
“A lot of kids keep in contact with CASA workers after their cases,” Crump said. “That’s when you know you’re making a real impact.”
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