It took 14 years of patience, determination and self-confidence — along with a key measure of local support — for a former foster child from the streets of Oakland to graduate from UC Davis.  Joe Jackson, 34, earned his bachelor’s degree last week in women and gender studies, completing a college odyssey that began nearly a decade and a half earlier at Laney Community College in Oakland.

Some may say it’s a miracle that Jackson even got into college to begin with. Few former foster kids make the same journey. A study by Annie E. Casey Foundation found that only 15 percent of youths in foster care were enrolled in college preparatory classes, versus 32 percent of students not in foster care. Fewer than 15 percent of foster children begin college while fewer than 2 percent go on to get a four-year degree.

Most of those who do graduate from college do so with the help of some type of assistance. In Jackson’s case, that was the Guardian Scholar program at UCD, which helped him with tuition, housing and counseling.