‘We adopted each other’: After foster care, Hilton Head grad finds a mom and a major
Over the course of his high school career, Daufuskie Island resident Shawn Smith didn’t just find a passion for cooking, a college major or a love of learning.
He also found a mom.
“When I saw him walking down the dock, I knew he was my son,” Deborah Smith said. “For me it was instant.”
Shawn was there as part of a field trip from his group home. He and his five younger siblings were placed in foster care in 2016, and he’d been on a trip to Daufuskie before. Deborah Smith was one of the volunteers on that trip and was introduced to the teenager by a mutual acquaintance.
“I think, for Shawn, maybe it took a little longer for him to trust me and to decide that we’d be a good match,” Deborah said. “I’ve always said that it’s not so much I adopted him but we adopted each other.”
The adoption was made official in 2019. Shawn transferred to Hilton Head Island High School as a sophomore with shaky grades. But on Thursday, he’s graduating as an honors student who made all A’s in his last semester, largely thanks to the help of tutor Vicky Price.
His five younger siblings, all of whom have also been adopted, are coming to visit Daufuskie for a weekend of graduation celebrations.
“That’s the biggest thing anyone can ask for,” he said of their visit. “I haven’t seen all of them together in a while. ... Seeing them all together and safe, I don’t have to worry.”
In the fall, he’ll attend the University of South Carolina at Beaufort, where he plans to study for two years at the Bluffton campus before transferring to the hospitality management program on Hilton Head Island.
That choice was inspired by his love for cooking, which he discovered at the group home. As a part of his chores, he would cook once a week for the rest of the house, making something simple such as wings.
As he started at Hilton Head High, he enrolled in a culinary class there. His teacher James Hill recognized his passion for cooking and showed him the basics.
“I just kept leveling up as I got older, learning more and more, expanding my repertoire of this and that,” Shawn said.
For the past two years, he’s worked at Haig Point Calibogue Club with the executive chef Taylor Griffin. He’s keeping a lot of avenues open for his future, from owning a restaurant to managing a hotel.
His advice to others is to “always try to do something. Don’t be the guy that just sits at home.” And, if you’re thinking about adopting, consider a teenager, he said. Just make sure you get to know them first.
“Adopting a teenager is almost like going skydiving for the first time,” Shawn said. “You haven’t done it, but you’re willing to try, but you’re also scared. You’re afraid of what might happen next, but you do it anyway.”