From Teacher to Father - Honor Aaron Whiteman

I am Karmine Herlan. Growing up, my life wasn’t the greatest. My dad was abusive towards my mom. My mom had me when she was 17. At the time, she could not take custody until she was considered a legal adult. So, I was sent from Florida, where I was born, to New York to live with my grandma. In 2010, she would go on to adopt me and raise me until she passed away in 2013. From there, I have been in the foster care system for 12 years straight, over 30 homes, 20 schools, and 5 residential facilities, one of which I spent 3 years in. Most of the homes weren’t the greatest; some were temporary, some weren’t even background checked, which turned out to be pedophiles and drug addicts. Some didn’t want to adopt, and some were getting too old to handle it. The list goes on.

In 2022, the foster home I was in was a temporary home. They decided they didn’t want me there anymore. At that time, I was still in school. I was in a program called BOCES taking Auto Technology. I was sent to the office to answer a phone call. From there, I was picked up and taken to a residential facility 3 hours away. Before I was taken, my teacher gave me his number, and we would go on to talk on the phone over the 3 months I was there we got to know each other more. Mainly, he wanted me back. Not only him, but my classmates too. The man you see in the photos did the unthinkable and the most humane thing a person could ever do. When he got the word to take custody of me, he drove the 3 hours to pick me up. My homeschool was 2 hours away. Each day from junior year to senior year, he drove me. He helped me get my driver’s license, and most of all, he gave me a home and made it to graduation. From the 3 years I’ve been with him so far, I’m proud we finally got all the paperwork done and submitted to the county for adoption. And most of all I’m proud to call him my dad, my biggest supporter.

I’m not asking you to help me because he already has, but rather you help him for he is truly the greatest person I ever had and others have had in their lives.