Formerly homeless Milwaukee student to attend UW Madison as presidential scholar

Chris Lueneburg by Chris Lueneburg

WTMJ-TV

A Milwaukee teen who experienced the ups and downs of foster care is now a presidential scholar who will be attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison, WTMJ-TV reported.

Isaac Wells graduated with top honors and earned a nearly full scholarship, but college didn’t always seem like an option throughout his life. As a child, Wells grew up on the north side of Milwaukee around poverty and violence, from which his mom tried to protect him.

“She didn’t like to go out into the world. She is a paranoid schizophrenic. So that is part of the reason why … from ages 4 to 8, I was in foster care,” Wells told WTMJ-TV.

After leaving foster care, Wells dove into his schoolwork, assisted by teachers and mentors. Now, he volunteers at the homeless shelters upon which his family once relied.

“I used to hate coming to things like this honestly. As shameful as that might sound. I used to not like having our money,” Wells said.

According to WTMJ-TV, Wells is one of only 161 students from around the country to be named a presidential scholar.

“I saw a future that I wanted and I didn’t want to live in poverty anymore. I saw that as a reason to focus on school,” Wells said.

He plans to study physics and engineering at UW-Madison, and wants to design jet engines as a career, he told WTMJ-TV.

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