Through the nonprofit organization, Winston Rhea in New Orleans, Lander alumnus Daniel Harris is giving hope and academic opportunities to young adults aging out of foster care. Contributed Photo.

GREENWOOD, S.C.—When young people leave the foster care system, their future success can be in jeopardy – one in four will end up homeless within six months, one in five males is likely to be incarcerated before age 25 and fewer than three percent will earn college degrees.

Such could have been the case for Daniel Harris, who entered foster care when the death of his father led to a disruption in the family’s life.

Yet, Harris beat the odds through supportive educational role models and foster care families who encouraged him to succeed. “I was very fortunate,” said Harris. “I had a high school basketball coach and a guardian ad litem who cared about me. I was not alone.”

He also found Lander University because of his interest in basketball and was a walk-on player during his freshman year. Although he didn’t stay on the team long term, Harris became completely immersed in college life as a residence hall advisor, a student government officer and a member of the XLR radio station team. He had a sports writing internship at the Index-Journal newspaper, played in a church basketball league and worked at the Greenwood YMCA.

“My experience at Lander and at the Greenwood YMCA was transformational for me,” said Harris, who earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communications and media studies in 2013 from Lander and a master’s degree in higher education from Columbia College in 2015.

“There are so many people I met because of Lander – students, faculty and staff – who had a profound impact on my life. The best man at my wedding I met at orientation.”

‘Profound Impact’ Leads to Nonprofit

That “profound impact” was so great that Harris has dedicated his career to working on college campuses and now is involved with college-aged adults who are aging out of foster care and trying to find their footing in the world. This includes needs for housing, education, work and plans for the future.

Knowing firsthand the challenges facing foster youth, Harris and his wife, Kate, founded the nonprofit organization, Winston Rhea Scholars, in 2021. The goal of Winston Rhea is to extend a “safety net” to current foster care youth in the New Orleans area who are aging out of foster care. Each academic year, the organization accepts two new scholars into the program where they receive four years of consistent funding, individual mentorship, financial literacy counseling, career coaching and community support.

“We want each of our scholars to have the peace of mind knowing that when they make mistakes that Winston Rhea will be with them to help them figure out what comes next,” said Harris, noting that the nonprofit hopes to expand the number of scholars as funding increases.

The organization is named after two people who formed Harris’ safety net when he was leaving foster care: Catherine Rhea, his guardian ad litem and advocate, and Winston Williams, his high school basketball coach. Their support allowed him to have the ability to take a chance on himself and his future, he said.

Lander: Friends and Relationships for Life

Harris also credits Lander with giving him the strong foothold he needed to pursue his dreams. “Lander provided me with the campus and work experiences I needed to have a full and enriching life,” he said. “From the second I came to campus, I found my friend groups. I found faculty who cared about me and my goals. These relationships had a tremendous impact on my life as a student and as a working professional.”

Even now when he talks to students, “I tell them to get involved on campus. Become part of student activities. College involvement not only improves your personal experience, but it also affects college graduation rates,” he said. “Lander gave me these opportunities.”

Harris recently was named as one of the Gambit New Orleans’ 40 under 40 for 2025, and Winston Rhea had its most successful fundraising year in 2024.

In the future, Harris hopes a scholarship can be established at Lander for Winston Rhea students. “I would like to provide a young adult who spent time in foster care with a scholarship to become a Bearcat. I want someone else to have the same chance in life that I did – to earn a Lander degree and see how magical of a place the Lander campus is,” he said.

To learn more about Winston Rhea Scholars, visit www.winstonrhea.org.