Foster child goes from apathetic to achiever

By her own account, Alicia Snyder was a little "bleep" when she was younger.

She often ditched school, leaving her house in the morning then sneaking back into her room through a window. She'd sleep until the afternoon, then leave again and pretend to walk home from school.

"I broke all the rules and everything, and I hated school," said Alicia, who now lives in a foster home in Stillwater. "I would, like, fail every class and stuff."

Five years later, she is nearly 18 and on track to graduate from Stillwater Area High School on time and become the first in her family to go to college. She plans to be a lawyer.

Her dramatic turnaround has earned her the respect of the Minnesota Foster Care Association, which named her the 2007 Minnesota Foster Care Child of the Year. And last month, the Washington County Board of Commissioners presented her with a certificate in recognition of her achievement.

Alicia is a shining example of a successful foster child, said her foster mom Jane George, who nominated her for the statewide award. George has had more than 800 children in her care over the years.

Alicia says she was placed in foster care because her mother wasn't able to parent her.

"Alicia was kind of a lost little girl at that point," George said. "She was a typical kid who hadn't had a lot of structure."

The rules took some getting used to, but with time, Alicia adjusted. "She really has evolved from stubborn to accepting what's good for her and what isn't," George said.

In the house, Alicia teaches the new girls who arrive how the house runs and offers advice.

"When some new girls come, they'll, like, actually want to sneak out and stuff," Alicia said. "I'm like, 'I wouldn't do that if I were you.'" She tells them to consider the consequences, such as losing a privilege if they get caught.

"I think I'm more mature now," she says. "I'm more responsible. If I was to go out with my friends, I'd have to know that they were going to bring me home on time. And if they can't, I'll be like, OK, drop me off like an hour early."

She blushes at talk of being a role model. Her own inspiration comes from her older brother, Chris Snyder. "He's like a dad to me. Even though we got into fights when I was younger, he still took care of me," she said.

Chris Snyder, of Lakeville, says he's proud of the changes Alicia has made. "She's come a long way from being a 13-year-old and out of control to how she is now," he said. "She has become an excellent aunt and an excellent sister."

She's pulling mostly A's and B's and works part time. She's also no longer running with the wrong crowd, said Snyder, who said his sister had some minor run-ins with local police when she was much younger.

What sets Alicia apart from so many other teens George has seen is that she has clear goals and has developed a plan to achieve them. That and her persistence.

She wants to be a defense attorney and has talked to a judge about shadowing the lawyers who regularly appear in her courtroom. Alicia says she plans to go to Century College for two years and then transfer to Hamline University. Then it's on to law school.

The year 2007 was full of personal challenges for Alicia, George said. She didn't really know her father before, but overcame her fears and got in touch with him. She said she hopes to meet him in Colorado later this year.

Alicia had her wisdom teeth pulled in July and the dentist cut a nerve, George said. In October, doctors broke her jaw to repair the nerve and she couldn't eat solid food for about a month.

But Alicia kept doing what she needed to do. "It didn't matter," George said. "She was going to finish and she was going to do it the right way."

Allie Shah • 651-298-1550