Offered without editorial
I'm going to tell you a story.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
Two years ago, I was standing in Dorchester, in a rough neighborhood, and I saw the #19 bus drive by.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
I knew immediately that it was no ordinary bus. This was a special bus. It was a bus that is a symbol of hope for many from Boston.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
I know that bus all too well. I took one just like it for six years. It was the bus to Boston Latin School.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
I was in Dorchester because I'd spent months working on a series about the #19 bus, which travels through many neighborhoods of struggle.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
But once a day, that bus transformed into the charter bus to Boston Latin School, one of the great symbols of hope in this city.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
At that moment, I was looking for hope. I had seen some rough things. A lot of people who saw no end to their struggle.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
And I wanted to end the series on a positive note. When I saw that bus go by, I knew immediately that I had found my story.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
I rode the bus for a while, talked to the kids on it, went fishing for the right story for this series.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
Then one day I met a man named Emmett Folgert, who runs the Dorchester Youth Collaborative, and he told me he had the perfect kids.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
Emmett Folgert is a lot like Boston Latin School. He lowers a ladder down into a pit for kids who have nothing, and helps them climb out.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
So one day, I went to Emmett's office and met the kids, two brothers named Johnny and George Huynh.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
They were quiet. They didn't quite know what was going on. But Emmett told them that their story was important. They agreed to share it.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
I spent weeks with Johnny and George. I went to school with them. I went home with them. I ate dinners with them. Slowly, they opened up
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
Their home life was extraordinarily difficult. Their parents had come from Vietnam and their father had fought alongside the US.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
After the war, they went through incredible struggle, finally making their way to the US in 1992. But their problems did not end.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
There were cultural problems. There were mental health problems. There were problems in the marriage. And there were huge money problems.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
But they had three children, Johnny and George, and an older sister.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
The kids grew up inside that struggle. Food was always short. So was money. They had nothing. I've never seen anything like it.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
Shortly before I met the boys, their father had taken his own life. He jumped off the Tobin Bridge in Boston.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
That left them alone with their mother. She didn't speak English. They didn't speak much Vietnamese. They were alone in their own house.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
Their mother had a mental disability, so they raised themselves, and they did it right. They got themselves up, got to school, and got A's.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
Watching these kids make good from almost nothing was the most special thing I've ever seen as a journalist.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
The opportunity to share their story was a great privilege. And it got a huge response. Huge. I wasn't the only ones touched by them.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
Here's a link to the article I wrote: http://t.co/mMwheRtTyi. And here's a link to the video @laurenfrohne made: http://t.co/lc9XQIfvMf
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
They were worried about having money to buy the paper, so the night before, I took them to the Globe and let them pull it off the press.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
After the story ran, our story was just beginning.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
I stayed close to the boys, partly out of an obligation, but mostly because I cared about them. They inspired me. And they were fun.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
But I also became something of a mentor to them. Freed from my constraints as a journalist, I could step into their lives and help.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
They had little cracks to fill, crazy things I never had to think of. I paid for prom tickets and Christmas gifts and dinners.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
They paid me back in so many ways, mostly by just keeping their head down and doing their work, like they had always done.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
When I first met them, Johnny was a junior and George was a sophomore. Johnny graduated last year and went to UMass-Amherst.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
I drove Johnny to college and bought him a dorm fridge. These are the cracks I'm talking about. George came along for the ride.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
And Emmett Folgert became a mentor to me, teaching me how to mentor. Stay on them, he'd say. Stay in touch. Ask questions. So I did.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
As college time rolled around for George, I became involved. I helped him with his essays. Did the sort of stuff a parent would do.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
And George was shooting high. Very high. His grades were outstanding. His story was compelling. He wanted to go all the way to the top.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
Which brings us to today. Today is a very special day for George. A day he's worked his whole life to get to.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
We've been trading texts all day. We were both nervous. He had applied for early acceptance to his dream school. At 5 p.m., he would hear.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
As 5 rolled around, I started pacing around the Globe. I went to get coffee. I bit my fingernails.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
I told him that no matter what happens, he had done all he could. And we'd go to dinner regardless. Either way, we had to celebrate.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
Shortly after 5, he texted me: I GOT IN. I was sitting at my desk, and I started crying.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
These boys are the nearest I've ever come to that thing we call The American Dream. But this was too much. George got into Yale.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
Rather than continue blabbering at my desk, I've retreated to the cafeteria to share this story.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
On Facebook, George wrote: "Yale University!!!! Thank you to everyone who's helped me get here!" I wrote: "You got there on your own, bud."
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
I have a tough time putting their story into words. It's about hope, sure. But it's about helping yourself. These boys did. We all can.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
So now I'm going to stop crying at my computer, I'm going to sneak out the door, then I'm going to take George out to celebrate.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
Sorry for flooding you with this experiment. But it's a story about what's right when we spend too much time writing about what's wrong.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
So I'm going to head down Dot Ave. to Geneva Avenue, one of the toughest streets in Boston, and take George out. He deserves it.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
I'll check back in later with some photos and updates. I'm so proud of this kid I can't even stand it. He's getting a big hug.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 16, 2013
Say hi to George, everyone. "Smile if you just got accepted to Yale!" pic.twitter.com/ZhKAGirkhk
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 17, 2013
YALE
— George Huynh (@InspirAsian9) December 16, 2013
So we've had a chaotic hour. We went to see Emmett. George received about a million texts. And then we spent forever deciding where to eat.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 17, 2013
And we've ended up at Wahlburgers! Seems fitting for a Dorchester kid made good to celebrate with a burger cooked by a Wahlberg.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 17, 2013
Plus the burgers come with government cheese.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 17, 2013
So how does he feel? "What can I say? It feels amazing. I've been nervous all day. Nervously confident."
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 17, 2013
I forgot to mention the other big thing that happened to George today: He got his braces off.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 17, 2013
Just explaining to George what I wrote earlier, because he just looked at his own a Twitter and can't figure out why he has new followers.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 17, 2013
So I hit my @ button. We scrolled and scrolled and only covered the last four minutes of replies. He's so confused. But happy.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 17, 2013
Talking to George about why he thinks his story has touched so many: "It's just the classic story of the underdog." Right. But…
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 17, 2013
I've always thought it was a story of opportunity. He had fewer than most, but he took advantage of them all. There's a lesson there.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 17, 2013
George wants me to stop "Tweeting about me when I'm right in front of you."
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 17, 2013
So I'm going to sign off for a bit. Thanks for experiencing this with me. And thank you George for being you.
— Billy Baker (@billy_baker) December 17, 2013
Amazing. Just amazing.
Thanks for sharing. My husband grew up in Dorcester and he still cannot talk about some of the things that happened so I know that these boys deserve all of this and more.
I only caught the end of the story and didn’t quite understand where it had all started. Thanks for posting this in order, it’s just awesome.
*sniff sniff*
This is so beautiful. I live near Dorcester now which makes it all the more touching, but that aside, this is a universally inspiring story.
I know Dot Ave and Geneva Ave, as I worked near there. Seriously started crying before I got to the end of the tweets. Thank you for sharing. I am sharing this far and wide. It’s the story of the brothers, and also of someone who cares a great deal.