Former Foster Youth Among 2% Who Succeed

AURORA, Colo (CBS4) - Tori is planning her wedding, an important time in any woman's life.

"I couldn't imagine planning this wedding without having my foster family," Tori told CBS4.

Her foster sister helps her pick out her flowers. Her foster father will walk her down the aisle

"I was really, really lucky," Tori said.

Tori went into foster care at age 16, after years of living with a drug addicted father.

"For years, we would get investigated and we would lie, and then we would move so the investigation would stop," Tori explained.

She found stability when she found her foster parents, Rob and Kamy.

For me, it was not a question of do we do it, it was how do we do it," Kamy said.

Kamy and Rob had two teenage daughters of their own, when they took in Tori and her two younger sisters. It wasn't always easy, but it was the perfect environment for Tori to thrive.

"She realized that she wasn't going to get kicked out for letting her feelings out, and letting us know when she was frustrated and when she was not. I think that's when we really jelled as a family," Rob explained.

When Tori turned 18, she became emancipated from state care, but she still relies on her foster family.

"Had I been in a regular foster home where when the check stops coming, you' stop living there, I probably would have had to drop out of school to support myself," Tori said.

Not only did she graduate from high school, she graduated from college and she's getting ready to go for her master's degree.

"Being with my foster parents everything changed where I could actually be a kid and focus on just myself and not have to take care of the family. So we focused on college," Tori said.

Less than 2-percent of children who age out of foster care will graduate from college.

"So being one of the 2-percent that made it feels really good, and I know that without the support of my family I probably wouldn't be able to do it," Tori said.

"I am so incredibly proud of her. She's an amazing person. She's driven, she knows what she wants, and she knows how to work for it," Kamy said.

Now Tori is focused on making life better for other foster children. She works for a non-profit program called Bridging the Gap. She says she'd like her story to be the standard rather than the exception to the rule.

LINK: Bridging The Gap

Libby Smith is a Special Projects Producer at CBS4. If you have a story you'd like to tell CBS4 about, call 303-863-TIPS (8477) or visit the News Tips section.