Hi, I’m Veronica Porges. I was adopted from Yue Yang, Hunan, China at 1 year old and have lived in Miami Beach, Florida my entire life. I am now at the University of Miami and am studying criminology and sociology with dreams of being in the FBI. I am so grateful that I was adopted by wonderful parents and am part of such a diverse family. Growing up, being adopted was an interesting experience, because everyone around me was Hispanic or white. I sort of stood out from everyone, and some people were even racist and stereotypical. However, those situations only made me stronger.

I started my own on-campus organization called Fostered and Adopted Comes Together, where we raise awareness about adoption and foster care, as well as create a community for adoptees and student from the foster care system. I think adoption is great and that those who can have children should still consider adopting, and the ones who cannot should especially consider adopting, because they can change a child’s life.