Our Youth

ceremony on stage

Natural Leader

Not many high school kids have earned the title Mayor, but it’s a long-standing tradition at Boys Town for students to elect their own mayor each year. Last May, the Boys Town students elected Hazakiah Williams to a position he wanted to hold since the day he set foot on […]

young lady dancer

On Pointe

Many little girls dream of becoming a dancer and often start dancing at a young age. That’s the path 18-year-old Emma Olson took when she started dancing at the age of two. But unlike many kids who eventually move on to other activities, Olson continued to stick with it, and […]

young lady

Sweet Memories

Quality time between a parent and child comes in many forms. For 12-year-old Rose Perry and her father Freddy, that quality time is in the form of creating ice cream cakes in a variety of flavors that both kids and adults find irresistible. What started out as a hobby has […]

woman with yarn animals

Dedicated to a Dying Art

Not many 14-year-olds take to crocheting, but Riley Teeter, an eighth grader at Papillion Middle School, not only fell in love with the hobby, she turned it into a business. Crochet Ninja offers an online course and kit to help any beginner learn to crochet in just seven days. Edge: […]

two girls hugging

Painting a Brighter World

What do two energetic, outgoing, eight-year-old twins do to pass the time? Paint, of course! Ava and Mala Prajapati not only love to paint, their natural ambition led them to create their own YouTube channel so they can teach other kids how to paint. In fact, they’ve channeled their inner […]

young male violinist

Spreading Joy

There are many ways that people connect with one another, but music is one way that spans generations. It’s what led sixteen-year-old Joseph Zhong, a junior at Millard North High School, to start his own music group, the Dreams Quartet, which later expanded into the Joy Group—a volunteer program in […]

woman baker

Decorating Dreams

Emma Freedman, a junior at Elkhorn South High School, took up baking after a back injury from playing hockey when she was a freshman in high school. Nearly four years later, she has turned her hobby into a business and an art. Today, Emma works at Culinary Kidz, where she […]

young man with candles

Lighting the Way

Sixteen-year-old Nic Bianchi was an entrepreneur even before he knew what the word meant. At age seven, he sketched a logo without knowing that someday it would represent his company. At age 11, he bought novelty items from Oriental Trading, such as slap bracelets, and sold them to students at […]

boy with dog

A Hero for Healthier Pets

When eight-year-old Porter Hinrichs found out his Golden Doodle Auggie had food sensitivities to many store-bought treats, he wanted to do something to help. So he and his mom Melissa found a recipe online to make grain-free, organic dog treats. He set up a stand outside his house and sold […]

young girl gymnast

A Talent for Tumbling

A particular talent often runs in a family, which happens to be the case for 9-year-old Eliza Turman. Her mother, Kim, was an All-American gymnast at the University of Nebraska Lincoln. After just four years in the sport, the fourth grader from Fire Ridge Elementary has already achieved a Level […]