In this qualitative study, undergraduate and graduate students (n = 21) who identified as foster care alumni (FCA) were interviewed about the factors that influenced their academic persistence and retention as they pursued a degree at a 4-year public university in California. Several themes emerged from the study: (a) systemic barriers, (b) a sense of community, (c) resilience, and (d) the roles of faculty, staff, and campus support programs. Findings indicate that FCA leveraged their aspirational, familial, linguistic, navigational, social, and resistant cultural capitals to overcome the systemic barriers that hindered their degree attainment. Critical to the participants' academic persistence and retention was a strong sense of community on their university campus as well as their inner resilience to establish an empowered position from which they could navigate systemic barriers and deficit-based institutional environments. Furthermore, participants demonstrated that antideficit, caring, and empathetic staff and faculty who provided trauma-informed campus support services were essential to their degree attainment. The implications from this study highlight the need for strategies and practices that foster the postsecondary success of FCA. It is important for policymakers, university leaders, educators, and practitioners to expand the supports and protective factors that will help increase the postsecondary attainment and completion rates of FCA students. Recommendations for policy, practice, and research are offered. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]