This Girl Was Left for Dead as a Baby. Now She's Celebrating Her College Acceptance.

Valery Swope, 18, was abandoned and left for dead by her birth mother. She's led a hard life, but she just got into college and she's thanking the social workers and police officers who helped get her where she is today,
As an infant, Swope was found wrapped in plastic and left in an abandoned building in Philadelphia's Frankford neighborhood. She was rescued by police officer Robert Varley (pictured above), who was inspiration for her name; Varley brought her to a local hospital and the nurses there decided to call her "Valery" after the man who saved her.
Swope spent most of her life living with various relatives and between foster homes. When she was only 15, she went missing for months, living with men who allegedly abused her. "The experiences she has been through and the depths of her pain are what motion pictures are made from," said her guidance counselor, Megan Hannah. Swope counts Hannah, as well as various other caseworkers and social workers, among her biggest supporters. Varley proudly attended Swope's high school graduation, and he, among Hannah and the social workers she's worked with, were the first people Swope called when she found out she got into Cabrini College.
Swope said she wanted to speak with Philly.com because she wanted to inspire others. "I want people to read my story and say: 'Wow, she can still do it. Maybe I can do it too.'