SESLOC Credit Union is proud to honor Tristan Stuetzel as a recent SESLOC Young Change Maker award winner. Tristan is a first-year, first generation college student who started an apparel line to support children in foster homes and those being adopted.
The SESLOC Young Change Maker Award is given to a young person or young professional under 40 doing significant work to benefit their community. Anyone can nominate a young person for the SESLOC Young Change Maker award on the Wild 106 website.
When Tristan was five years old, he and his brothers entered the foster system. While he stayed paired with one of his younger brothers in a permanent placement home, his other brother was not. Although he eventually grew up in a stable household in Templeton, past trauma haunted him. But it also empowered him to do more than people said he would.
After graduating high school, he became a first-generation college student at Chico State University. Between classes, he founded Adoptare: A street clothing brand dedicated to supporting children in foster care and being adopted. Proceeds from his sales are dedicated to “The David Scholarship,” named after one of his brothers. The need-based fund offers scholarships for adoptees and foster youth pursuing higher education. His goal is to turn the company into a non-profit organization dedicated to scholarship fundraising.
His dedication to the communities he grew up in doesn’t stop there. His brand partnered with Georgia Kids Belong and Bananas Foster Inc. to donate 30 Adoptare tote bags to foster youth participating in the I Belong Project, putting clothing directly in the hands of kids navigating the system. He has also been in active outreach with America’s Kids Belong, one of the nation’s leading foster care advocacy organizations. Tristan also regularly speaks about his experiences in the foster care system and shines a light on problems in the system, including homelessness, education gaps, and mental health outcomes for foster youth.
As Tristian continues his education, he hopes to grow his Adoptare brand and bring back results to Templeton and across the Central Coast. His long-term goal is to show young people in the community that they can build something meaningful from any starting point.
SESLOC congratulates Tristan for being named a SESLOC Young Change Maker!