When Carol Lane (Speech Pathology and Audiology, ’79) first arrived in Chico, she found magic in the pink blush of almond blossoms drifting across orchards, in the quiet hum of bicycles on campus, and in the intimate learning environment.

“I grew up in the Bay Area, and there was this freshness about Chico,” said Lane. “It was really rural. There were orchards, horses, even a donkey near my apartment.”

That beauty, paired with Chico State’s close-knit campus culture, stayed with her when she moved to Los Angeles after graduating. Lane recalls small classes, professors like the late William Shrum, who made speech pathology classes feel deeply personal, and the strong sense of belonging she found on campus.

“The teachers were excellent,” she says. “They really cared. You’d see them around town—they were part of our lives.”

Her education guided her to a long and fulfilling career as a library technician for the Ventura County Library, where she worked for two decades.

“I loved working in libraries,” Lane says. “In small towns, they’re the heart of the community—the center of everything. I miss it still.”

But even after decades of public service, she never forgot the confidence and sense of pride in herself she built at Chico State. Those memories and her deep belief in the power of education inspired Lane to make a transformative estate gift, alongside an immediate $10,000 contribution to support the Promoting Achievement Through Hope (PATH) Scholars program in perpetuity.

PATH Scholars serves current and former foster youth, unaccompanied homeless minors, and emancipated students at Chico State. Nationally, only about four percent of foster youth earn a bachelor’s degree by age 26. PATH Scholars helps Chico State students defy those odds through academic advising, financial aid, mentorship, and community-building activities.

Since its founding in 2014, the program has supported hundreds of Wildcats, transforming resilience into opportunity and ensuring every student feels seen, supported, and capable. Lane says her decision to invest in the program came from a deep sense of empathy and justice.

For Lane, Chico State was a turning point, a place where she could start fresh. “Moving to a new town gave me a fresh start—new faces, new friends, new roommates,” she says. “It lifted me up. Everyone should have that chance.”

Her gift ensures that generations of students will have the same opportunity—students like Jordan Martinez (Economics, ’25), who entered the foster care system at age five and once doubted whether college was even possible.

Through PATH Scholars, he found the mentorship and community that helped him see his own potential.

“When I came to PATH Scholars, it was like a restart,” said Martinez. “They helped me with my basic needs, my classes, my confidence. When you have people who believe in you, you start believing in yourself.”

After settling at Chico State, he became a peer mentor for PATH Scholars, helping foster youth navigate the same challenges he once faced.

Now a Chico State graduate working as a student orientation and events assistant at Butte College, Martinez hopes to pay forward the support that changed his life. “I want to teach others how to build stability and confidence,” he says. “My story is proof that foster youth can thrive when they’re supported.”

Lane’s generosity guarantees that belief will continue to ripple forward, offering the same kind of hope and support that shaped her own life more than four decades ago.