Success Stories

My name is Amber, and I had the privilege of calling Boys Town my home from 2002 to 2005. When I arrived, I was a young girl who had learned far more about surviving than living. I didn’t know what it meant to feel safe, to belong, or to be part of a family. I carried wounds I didn’t yet understand and questions I didn’t know how to ask. But Boys Town became the place where everything began to change — the place that saved my life, shaped my future and gave me the family I had never known.

My first job at Boys Town was on the farm, cultivating the fields. That work grounded me and gave me a sense of purpose. I remember caring for the animals, planting seeds, and working around the lake.

I had a gym teacher who pushed me because they saw something in me. I took part in morning weights, and it built my strength and confidence. Being on the flag team for football and playing softball gave me structure, teamwork and a sense of belonging. Each activity stitched another thread into the identity I was slowly building.

Boys Town opened doors I never imagined.  

I became a tour guide at the Visitors Center, sharing my story with busloads of tourists and showing them the campus that had become my safe haven — something I could be proud of. Later, I earned an off‑campus job as a dietary assistant. I loved being around the elderly, listening to their stories and learning from their wisdom. At the same time, I was studying to become a Certified Nursing Assistant, and I earned my certification before I even graduated high school.

My transformation was not only academic or practical — it was deeply spiritual.

Every Wednesday, Bible study became a rhythm that steadied me. I worked hard in religion class, made the honor roll and was named Student of the Quarter. Much of that was because of  my religion teacher. I looked up to her deeply. Her kindness, patience and sincerity helped shape my faith during some of the most important years of my life.

I also loved attending the Catholic church for the holidays. The candles, the music, the reverence — it all touched me deeply. Father Peter played a profound role in my life. His gentleness and compassion left a lasting mark on my heart. Even after I graduated, we stayed in contact and shared dinners that meant the world to me.

Pastor Charlie at the Protestant church was another steady presence, and choir became one of my core memories. Singing in harmony with others was one of the first places my heart felt truly at home.

Holidays at Boys Town were magical. I always stayed on campus because Boys Town was my home. I remember playing Della in The Gift of the Magi. I felt so special when Godfather’s Pizza brought food for the festivities. It made me feel like someone out there cared for us. And I will never forget the family outings — loading everyone into the big blue van to go shopping, to the movies, or out to eat. Those simple moments made me feel like part of a real family.

And then there were the people who changed my life forever.

The Martinsons and the Jassos were more than Family-Teachers to me — they were the first people who showed me what a family should feel like. They taught me how to clean, how to cook, how to care for a home and how to care for myself. They taught me responsibility, tenderness, structure, warmth, discipline and love. They showed me what it meant to be seen, valued and loved without conditions. Their influence still shapes the way I build my own home and family today.

By the time I graduated in 2005 — top of my class, CNA in hand, scholarship for nursing waiting — I was no longer the girl who had arrived three years earlier. I was stronger. I was steadier. I was hopeful. I had a foundation. I had a future.

Boys Town didn’t just change my life.  

It saved it.  

It gave me structure when I needed it.  

It gave me community when I felt alone.  

It gave me purpose when I felt lost.  

It gave me a home when I had none.  

It gave me a family when I didn’t know what family meant.  

It gave me a future I never imagined would be possible.

Because of everything Boys Town poured into me, I have built a life I am proud of. I have been with my husband for 20 years, and together we are raising two amazing teenagers. I’ve spent 12 years working at Mutual of Omaha, giving back to society with the same dedication and hope that was once given to me. My faith is strong, steady, and alive — because Boys Town gave me the foundation I needed and the belief that my life had purpose.

Everything I am today — as a woman, a wife, a mother, a professional and a person of faith — is rooted in the seeds Boys Town planted in me.  

It didn’t just give me a chance. It gave me a life.

And now, because of the healing and hope I received, my children will never have to know what it’s like to hurt the way I did. They will grow up in a home filled with love, stability and belonging — the very things I once longed for. That is the legacy Boys Town helped me create.

To everyone who poured into me — the teachers, my Family-Teachers, the mentors, the pastors, the friends and the families who loved me as their own — THANK YOU! What you gave me cannot be measured, and it cannot be repaid. You changed the entire direction of my life.

There are no words big enough to express what Boys Town means to me.  

There is no sentence strong enough to capture the hope you restored.  

There is no paragraph long enough to explain the family you became.

All I can say is thank you — for seeing me, believing in me, shaping me and giving me a future I never thought I would have. Everything good in my life today carries your fingerprints.

My gratitude is deeper than anything I could ever put into words.