Three former influential Boys Town High School students recently became Hall of History Inductees.
The awards were presented to Sheila Dwyer-Cornett, Rod James and Ken Geddes. Following are some of their career highlights.
Sheila Dwyer-Cornett, Departed, 1989
Sheila Dwyer-Cornett arrived at Boys Town on June 15, 1986. She set a goal of earning a college degree.
She completed the Boys Town program in June of 1989 and finished her high school senior year, in 1990, at Benson High School in Omaha. Her heart and her commitment, however, never left Boys Town.
Married for 23 years to her husband, Tim, and the mother of three children, Dwyer-Cornett made the decision to be home with her children. But college was an ever-present goal and when her youngest child began kindergarten she immediately enrolled in college classes at Metro Community College in Omaha.
Determined to teach her children that education is a valued goal, Dwyer-Cornett looked for ways to ultimately complete her college education. She began researching scholarship opportunities. After much hard work and research, she was awarded a full scholarship from the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation to attend the University of Nebraska-Omaha (UNO) and complete her degree. In May of 2013, Dwyer-Cornett crossed the stage at UNO and was awarded her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology. As a result of her hard work and academic excellence, she was chosen as the undergraduate speaker for the College of Arts and Sciences commencement.
Dwyer-Cornett later pursued a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing, graduating in 2017 with her degree. As a nurse, she volunteered to support the World Refugee Health Fair, assisted with the Foster Care Closet, as well as creating a video PSA addressing the social, emotional and health risks faced by youth in the foster care system. She did all this while working as a traveling nurse during the height of the COVID19 pandemic.
She is presently an RN/Team Lead at University Health Lakewood Medical Center with the University of Missouri in the Kansas City metro area.
Roderick S. James, Graduated 1974
Roderick Steven James arrived at Boys Town on October 21, 1970, from Omaha, Nebraska. Armed with a beautiful voice and a desire to succeed, he found a home in the Boys Town Choir Section and after two years in the Repertoire Choir, joined the touring Concert Choir where he was able to sing concerts throughout the United States.
A proud graduate of the Boys Town’s Class of 1974, his journey started with a simple but powerful idea: that discipline, service and community can shape a life of purpose. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and spent a decade in uniform.
When James returned to Omaha in 1990, he didn’t slow down. Instead, he and his wife, Ericka, launched a private investigation firm that’s gone on to support over 200 employees and helped secure convictions in more than 18,000 criminal cases.
Since 1998, he has brought his sharp instincts and deep empathy to the Douglas County Attorney’s Office. Whether it’s helping solve complex homicide cases or bridging language gaps with his fluent Spanish, James is a trusted hand in the pursuit of justice.
His commitment to community runs deep. He sits on the Iowa West Racing Association Board of Directors and the Council Bluffs Civil Service Commission. He serves on the Council Bluffs Citizen/Police Advisory Board. He lends his time as a Reserve Officer for the Shenandoah, Iowa, Police Department. He’s also a founding member of the Omaha Homicide Support Group.
Kenneth L. Geddes, Graduated 1966
Kenneth L. Geddes arrived at Boys Town in October of 1962, from Jacksonville, Florida. He was one of 17 children whose mother had passed away.
Boys Town became the home and family that he was looking for and he quickly found sports to be his calling. Geddes participated in football, basketball and track.
Geddes was a member of Boys Town’s State Championship basketball teams in 1965 and 1966, State Championship football team in 1965, and ran a leg on the State Championship mile relay team in track.
On the gridiron, he earned All-American and All-State honors. He received a football scholarship at the University of Nebraska. He earned All-Conference honors twice as a linebacker and defensive lineman for the Huskers.
Geddes was inducted into the University of Nebraska Football Hall of Fame in 1996 and into the Nebraska Black Sports Hall of Fame in 2007. Upon the completion of his four years of college, he was drafted by the Detroit Lions of the NFL.
He later returned to the University of Nebraska to finish his degree and after completing it, he signed with the Los Angeles Rams and played for them until he was selected in the veteran’s expansion draft to become a member of the newly formed Seattle Seahawks. It was in Seattle he found a permanent home.
After retiring from the Seahawks, Geddes worked for a nonprofit agency helping families in need and became certified as a drug and alcohol counselor. Earning his master’s degree in counseling, Geddes became a middle school counselor and worked in that career for more than 25 years.
All three of these Hall of History Inductees are great representatives of Boys Town.
