Danielle

by KYW's Larry Kane
Produced by Jim Melwert

Sixteen-year-old Danielle has big plans for the future.

(Kane:)  "What do you want to be?"

(Danielle:)  "A lawyer.  Because it’s fun, you get to put people away that are doing bad stuff, you get to lock them up.  Plus you get to defend people that are innocent."

Danielle knows she has a lot of work to do to become a lawyer, and she works hard in school.

(Kane:)  "How are your grades?"

(Danielle:)  "Good -- A’s and B’s."

Danielle’s social worker, Ben Magnussen, has been working with her for about four years, and he says he’s seen Danielle really begin to chase down her dreams:

“I think she’s realized she’s going to need to put a lot of hard work into school if she’s serious about becoming a lawyer.  So I think I’ve seen her grades go up quite a bit and I’ve seen her take her academics much more seriously.”

And he says an adopted family could help Danielle reach her dreams simply by offering her the small things in life:

“I think Danielle’s looking for a lot of things that many of us take for granted.  Simple things, like someone to congratulate her when she makes the honor roll or someone to take her shopping.  And I think once she gets that in her life, she’s going to be able to focus a little bit more on her future goals and will be able to start moving forward.”

For more information, go to the web site of the Adoption Center of Delaware Valley, ACDV.org. 
  

Photo by KYW's Ed Fischer