Success Stories
Pursuing Passions:
Bella's Story
Bella's Mom Often Says, "I felt like I was losing my daughter and I had to give her to Boys Town to get her back."
Honestly, that's a sentiment we often hear from parents at Boys Town graduations. Children on a path to self-destruction often need to get out of their homes of origin to find a new way of being themselves.
Bella certainly blossomed during her time at Boys Town. In fact, reflecting on her graduation, Bella said, "Amazing things happen here every day. Miracles happen. Without Boys Town, I would not be graduating. And I definitely wouldn't be going to college."
To learn all about her journey, watch the short video below.
Vicki: Her voice is amazing. It's really neat because sometimes when she sings and there's a lot of tension in the house, you could just kind of feel that go away 'cause it's kind of like a little angel
Bella: Singing has helped me in continuing my passions of music, by allowing me to have different opportunities to express myself and for me to be able to just embrace my talents.
And they accept us for who we are. I mean, amazing things happen here every day. Miracles happen. Without Boys Town, I would not be graduating. I would definitely not be going to college. I don't know where I would be and I don't even want to imagine it.
I was born to a military family. So in my early childhood we moved around a lot. When that happened, it was a big change and I think my mental health declined. That always kind of been a problem, but it became prevalent also as I was maturing and going through middle school. I repeatedly said this to my family.
This was my quote. "I'm here for a good time, not a long time." I guess I had a lot of maturing to do. So after getting repeat charges and I was taken to a detention center, after that, the judge court ordered me to go to intervention and assessment. That's a program a lot of campus kids go through before they come to home campus.
And it's kind of just, it's a period of time and a stable environment, structured environment that they can see what you need. Their whole job, their whole purpose is to help you get to where you want to be in life. My family, teachers have have been my family while I'm here, and I know they will continue to be my family when I leave.
Vicki: I hope, for Bella's future that she follows her dreams, her goals. She wants to be a child advocate. So I hope she can pursue that because she's a very strong woman and I think she can make a difference.
Bella: Before Boys Town, my grades were D's and F's and I barely went to school. I didn't care.
But now I am in the National Honor Society and my grades, I have cumulative 3.9 and I am planning on going to a four year college and studying political science.
Jeff: But she has grown into a mature young woman in the little over two years that she's been here and she's put it to good use to do a lot of interesting and different things while she's been here on campus. Oh, well I couldn't help but shedding some tears today.
Mike: Two and a half years ago, I wasn't sure if Bella was gonna be alive. And, what Boys Town has done and what Bella has done with the helps of Boys Town has just been tremendous. And to see her successful today graduating high school, and I know she has a bright future ahead of her because of Boys Town.
Tristan: I feel like I was losing my daughter and I had to give her to Boys Town in order to get her back. I know I say it all the time, but that's, that's how it is.
Bella: I'm the healthiest I've ever been in my life mentally and physically, and I care about my life and my future, and I know that others do too.
