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Author's Note: Each week, KSL brings you the stories of children living in foster care right here in our own communities. These kids need our help, and the opportunity to find a permanent home.SALT LAKE CITY — Many of the children living in foster care have been there for years. Jesse is one of them.
He said each day he hopes for adoption. We took the car-loving teen for a fun-filled day at the Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele.
“I don’t even know where to begin,” Jesse said. “They’re fast, fun to watch, and fun to see crash.”
Teenage boys and fast cars are two things that pretty much go hand-in-hand. So, when Jesse heard he was spending a day at the race track, he was thrilled.
Although he doesn't have his license yet, he was pretty impressive on the go-cart. “I beat you,” he said proudly after his race. However, that was just a warm-up for the real surprise — a ride in a Mustang with a professional race car driver.
For Jesse, it's not just fast cars — he's got big plans. He wants to go to college and dreams of attending the University of Utah.
“I’m pretty dang hopeful,” he said.
Eventually, he'd like to turn his love of cars into a career as a mechanic. On Friday, he'll celebrate his 17th birthday, and there's one gift he wants more than anything.
“I want to actually be a part of a family,” he said.
Jesse has traveled a rough road. He's lived in six different foster homes in just seven years, but that's not the most difficult thing he's faced.
His mom died from multiple sclerosis. He believes that experience changed him, and he wants to make his mom proud. It’s something he thinks a new family can help him with.
“I just know if I keep trying, it will work out,” he said.
