CAMPBELL COUNTY, Ky. — It's a story of hope... and love.
A student in Kentucky went from being reprimanded by her principal to becoming a member of his family
"She said that she had thrown a cup of yogurt at lunch," said principal Jason Smith. "And I asked, 'well, if you were out at a restaurant, would, would you do that there?'"
"And I was like, I've never really been to a restaurant," said student Raven Whitaker-Smith, a sixth grader at the time. "I don't really have a family. I'm in a group home."
Raven said she never felt loved during the first 11 years of her life and lived in what she described as terrible conditions.
"We had head lice, we had like bruises all up and down us," she said. "Our fingernails were really gross and stuff."
Jason and his wife, Mary Beth, had previously fostered kids who eventually returned to their biological families. The couple wanted children of their own and had been through infertility treatments.
"It just crushed us, so we made a decision, probably more so me, that my heart couldn't take another break like that," said Mary Beth.
After hearing Raven's story, though, Jason wanted to help. He and his wife decided to start the foster process.
"They say that a mother falls in love with a child at first sight. And I can remember Raven walking into that room that day, that scared little kid, and I'm, I just knew in my heart this is, this is what it's supposed to be," Mary Beth said.
Raven said she was initially hesitant about being fostered by the Smiths. That hesitation quickly passed. She said she felt like she belonged after the first weekend visit.
"The same weekend we went and painted the room my favorite color teal. I just like, knew that everything happens for a reason," said Raven.
Jason and Mary Beth officially adopted Raven in 2017. Raven said it's difficult to imagine life without them.
"Honestly, I wouldn't be alive," Raven said. "I probably would have went down a completely different path."
Raven said she overcame a lot of trauma from her childhood and still deals with some of it. Her goal going forward is to help others like her. She is now studying social work at the University of Kentucky.
"She's overcome a lot of the, the challenges that she's had at work," Jason said. "We're really proud of her."
"If you're out there and you're thinking about fostering a kid - one, don't be afraid to take a teenager. I couldn't love her any more, if I had given birth to her," said Mary Beth.