Hi y’all my name Isabella Porter but my friends call me Bella and I am from Austin, Texas. I was born in Phoenix, Arizona and moved to Austin when I was 3 years old. I am the youngest out of 9 children; 5 brothers and 3 sisters. My brother Jefferson and my sister Jacqueline are 36, my brother Justin is 33, my sister Sarah is 33, my sister Laura is 25, and my brothers Michael, Charles, and Alex are all 20. My brother Michael and I were fortunate enough to be adopted together by the most wonderful and caring people ever. We had so many amazing opportunities to play sports and to attend the two most amazing High Schools in Texas. My mom put me into cheerleading when I was 3 and I decided to continue to do competitive cheer for the next 15 years. Cheer has always been a good way for me to clear my head and focus on something I love to do. I cheered at 3 different gyms from the ages of 3-15 then did high school cheer for 3 years. During my Sophomore year I broke my foot 4 times and got 2 concussions, and during my Junior year I tore my hamstring and got 2 more concussions so I was unable to do cheer my Senior year. 

I started out at Westlake High School and then transferred to Lake Travis High School the last 3 months of my Sophomore year. When I got to Lake Travis, I fell in love Physics and Psychology. I met so many nice people and tried out for the cheer team but, I got into a bad car accident after my second week at my new school and had to miss about 3 weeks before I could go back to school with regulations. After I got back, I ended up getting Mononucleose and had to miss the rest of the school year. We had to hire a private tutor to come and help teach me what I was missing in school so I would be able to take my finals and go on to Senior year. I surprised everyone and made it to Senior year and even took AP Psychology. It was difficult at first to get used to having someone actually teaching me but, my teachers and Assistant Principal helped me stay on track. I learned so much during the first semester about the scientific theories, and the background about psychology. We had to write an essay about something we were passionate about and my topic was the psychological needs of the children in Foster Care. 

I got the opportunity to meet my birth moms brothers 6 year old son Joseph over the 2018 christmas break with my best friend Kate. He had been taken away from his parents by CPS at the age of three because they didn’t think his parents were capable enough to take care of him. I knew from the moment I met him that I wanted to help the children in Foster Care when he asked me, “Are you going to leave me like my mommy and daddy did?”. From that point on I’ve wanted to be able to be the person who works with the children in the system and helps them cope with being taken away from their parents and to find a way to help them deal with their emotions.

I wanted to find a University where I felt at home and knew I could achieve my goals. I visited High Point University in the summer of 2017 and boom, I was home. I found the place I knew I could do anything I set my mind to. I didn’t just love the campus (that’s just a bonus) but I love how the school isn’t super big so the student and teacher interaction is amazing. The professors know you by your name and are always there to answer any questions you might have. l ended up applying under early decision in the fall of 2018 and in February I got accepted. I’m currently majoring in Psychology and minoring in Criminal Justice, and I’m so excited to see what my future holds.