Dustin entered the foster care system at the age of eight with his older sister who was in her teens. While he was in care he had thirteen placements and attended 13 different schools. Dustin was placed in group homes, shelters, foster homes and kinship placements. He found stability in the last group home where he is currently living until he ages out of the foster care system.
Despite all of his different placements Dustin has a loving heart and desire to give back to his community. He has volunteered at a number of organizations; traveled abroad to participate in mission trips and even gives back to the group home that he currently lives in.
Dustin is looked up to by the other members of his group home as a role model, and appreciates that he demonstrates that circumstances do not dictate outcomes. This fall Dustin will be attending the University of Texas in Austin, where he will be majoring in Kinesiology (the science of human movement) with a minor in History.
Dustin eventually wants to become a physical therapist, with desires of opening his own clinic one day. Dustin knows that young people are scornful towards CPS, their caregivers, and their situations, which only make matters worse. If attitudes could be changed, outcomes would be better. “It takes just one person, at one moment to change a lifetime; I want to be that person.”
