BOISE, Idaho — Ornella Kero fled to Idaho as a refugee with her family when she was just a little girl.
"I believe we came here in 2012, and we came from Cameroon in Africa," Kero said.
She had so much to adapt to at the age of 7. A new country, a new city, a new language and a new school. She said it was all overwhelming.
"I learned how to speak English at school in my ESL classes, and from watching a lot of American TV at home," she said.
At Hillside Junior High Kero started wrestling. She said she fell in love with the sport and went on to have a standout wrestling career at Boise High School.
"It's a thinking sport, I like that you have to think about what moves you are going to use. You can't just go in and muscle out people, you have to have strategies to get your opponent down and stuff," she said.
Jeff Dinwiddie coached Kero at Boise High. He first spotted her in junior high school.
"Fearless, a natural, she just has this incredible athletic ability," Dinwiddie said. "The fact that back in those days if you wanted to wrestle, every girl had to wrestle boys, and some were a little shy about it. Ornella just thrived in that environment. She wasn't afraid. She has over a hundred wins in her career."
Dinwiddie said he is so inspired by everything Kero has overcome to get to where she is in her young life.
"English is her third language, there's the scholastic part of it, and culturally, there's that part of it. Some of the struggles she's gone through, it's unreal," says Dinwiddie.
Kero calls Dinwiddie Papa Jeff.
"Because he's been like a father to me," she said. "He's taken me in, helped me to get better, taken me to camps. You don't find that in coaches a lot, and I'm very grateful for that."
Dinwiddie said welcoming Kero into his family, and his world, was easy to do.
"You see someone like Ornella," he said, "and she just needed that opportunity. You know?"
Dinwiddie has supported her every step of the way through high school. Last year, her senior year, Kero won the state girls wrestling title. It was something they both dreamed of.
"It was surreal," Kero said. "I was seeing Papa Jeff jump up and down, and all my coaches coming up to me, and my friends and people from other schools coming up to me and saying good job, you did so great."
"I remember she went to her knees, I vividly remember it like it was yesterday, she crashed to her knees. We were crying, she was elated, it was just something really special," Dinwiddie said.
After winning the state title Kero qualified for nationals in Fargo, North Dakota, however, money was tight, and she was on a tight timeline to fundraise.
That is when local Boise realtor Christina Moore Ward steps into the story. She met Kero through one of her passion projects.
"I've been interviewing athletes at Boise High for this little newsletter that I do," Ward said. "My life changed when I met her, I cried the whole time listening to her story, and I was really moved by her. Having that passion and focus and drive, and then she goes on to win state, to be the best, Wow."
Ward said she could not imagine letting this opportunity to compete at nationals pass Kero by. She posted a video on Facebook sharing her story to help raise money to send her to Fargo.
The response from the community was incredible.
"I was really amazed, I knew people would help but I didn't think people would help that much," Ward said. "We raised over 5,000 dollars in 24 hours. Boise is just so kind, it felt like the entire Boise community stepped up."
When Kero found out that the community fundraised for her she was overwhelmed with gratitude.
"Papa Jeff called me and said, do you want to go to Fargo," Kero said. "I said yeah I do, and he said Christina Ward fundraised for you, and I said what, are you serious?"
Thanks to those community donations Kero was able to go to Fargo and compete. She went two and two. Dinwiddie said he was so proud.
"Man, she's awesome," Dinwiddie said. "She did a great job."
In Fargo she was also spotted by a college coach from Montana. A week later, she was offered a full ride scholarship to the University of Providence in Great Falls. She said college was just a dream before and now it was a reality.
Dinwiddie said seeing her get a scholarship was very emotional for him.
"You don't have to look very hard to find someone that has a story like Ornella's," Dinwiddie said. "It doesn't have to be this big Facebook fundraising effort, it just has to be hey, do you need a ride to practice? How can I help you? Put yourself out there where you could help that kid, you know?"
Ward said she is also inspired by Kero and her story of never giving up.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so proud," Ward said. "It just gets me excited. How can we help more young women? More people who are underserved and who haven't been seen yet, to be seen?"
Kero is now in Montana at college. She is a college athlete, wrestling with one of the best programs in her division. She said she is so thankful to her community, especially Coach Dinwiddie and Christina Moore Ward and that she could not have done it alone.
"I want to say thank you for all the support, and thank you for believing in me," Kero said. "I'm truly grateful that you guys didn't give up on me. It means that somebody does care for me out there."
Kero is redshirting this first year at college, and then she will start competing on the mat next year. She said she can't wait.
This last year was huge for her. She won a high school state championship, received a scholarship to wrestle in college and in November she achieved her goal of officially becoming a United States citizen.
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