Success Stories
Giving Back to the Next Generation: Rasheed's Story
Rasheed's Boys Town story started on March 1st, 2010, when he arrived at Boys Town after having been expelled from high school. Running with the wrong crowd and making poor choices had landed him somewhere he wasn't thrilled to be.
But because Rasheed opened his heart and gave Boys Town a chance, he soon found himself someplace he could grow and thrive. Excelling on the basketball court at Boys Town lead him to a junior college scholarship and eventually a college degree.
Rasheed is back home at Boys Town, as an Assistant Family Teacher, helping the next generation of hurting kids find their way out of sadness and into a bright, successful future
Rasheed: I was just hanging out, doing bad things, skipping school. That ultimately led to me getting expelled from high school. I ended up missing 81 school days.
I arrived to Boys Town, actually I know the exact date, it was March 1st, 2010. And I really didn't...I didn't like it at first. I gave Boys Town the benefit of the doubt that it was going to change my life. And I really latched on to basketball as my biggest motivation, and I used that to just propel me towards my success. I ended up getting a scholarship to go play at a junior college, from that I graduated college with a sociology degree.
Rasheed: This is my house, that I used to stay in. My family teachers were Rob and Jeannie Wright. They shaped my life more than what they even knew at the time. It really changed my life and I owe Boys Town a lot for it.
I've been an assistant family teacher here at Boys Town for three years.
I didn't fully know what I wanted to do, but I always liked to help people. So even during my summer breaks, I would always come back to Boys Town to help out with the basketball team or help out in some capacity with summer work and just always come back every summer just to give back and be around Boys Town and just be in that whole family environment just because it was my family for a year and a half. So it made me want to always come back and help.
Jeff: Rasheed is the absolute best. He is caring, patient, and kind, always willing to take the boys out and go, just play sports with them, or just have conversations.
Jafar: He's kind of like an uncle to us... I can't stop laughing. He likes to laugh and joke around with us. He makes jokes with us, at us. We make jokes towards him, too.
Rasheed: I would say a big part of me wanting to come back to Boys Town and work is just to get the opportunity to give back. It kind of rewards me just to be around Boys Town in the homey, family-style environment. It makes me feel like I'm home. And it helped me so much. I would want to give back to the boys and just say, hey, it's possible. You can do it. You just have to put the work in.
Rasheed: Being an assistant family teacher at Boys Town doesn't really feel like a job. Now, it's a way of life and I love it.
Brianna: The role that faith plays at Boys Town is huge. I think without faith, Boys Town wouldn't actually be Boys Town.
