From Drama Club To The White House: Inside Kellyanne Conway’s Teen Years

Before Kellyanne Conway became President Donald Trump’s counselor, she was a New Jersey teen with an incredible work ethic. In a special investigation, RadarOnline.com exclusively obtained photos from her New Jersey high school yearbook and spoke with those closest to her – from her mom to her aunt to numerous high school friends, all of whom said she always seemed destined to go far.

Before Kellyanne Conway became President Donald Trump’s counselor, she was a New Jersey teen with an incredible work ethic. In a special investigation, RadarOnline.com exclusively obtained photos from her New Jersey high school yearbook and spoke with those closest to her – from her mom to her aunt to numerous high school friends, all of whom said she always seemed destined to go far.

Conway, 50, was brought up by her mother, Diane Fitzpatrick and her grandmother, who passed away 16 years ago. Fitzpatrick gushed to RadarOnline.com, “I am very proud of her. She worked very hard for what she has achieved and what she has done so far in her life."

Conway's aunt, Angela Coia, told RadarOnline.com about her love for the woman who is a tireless spokesperson for President Trump. “She's a great niece and a very hard worker," Coia said. "She always has been.”

Conway graduated from St. Joseph High School in Camden, New Jersey in 1985, and her fellow classmate Benjamin Melora told RadarOnline.com that he knew her since kindergarten! "She got to where she is today because she is very intelligent and she worked very hard for it," Melora said. "She excelled in everything she did."

Melora told RadarOnline.com that Conway was not only very active in school, but also seemed to be friends with almost everybody. She was always quick to assist other students who needed help with homework or a ride home in her car, he said.

Conway’s friend told RadarOnline.com that he last saw her at the school reunion two years ago. "She was good," he said. "She lost a lot of weight but she had the same personality.”

Now a recognized force for the President, Conway hasn't surprised Melora with her success. "Everyone knew she was going to go far because she always went beyond what was expected of her," he explained.

Conway’s father divorced her mother when she was just three years old, and Melora told RadarOnline.com that she never spoke about him. "I don't know anything about her father," he said. "She never mentioned it and I never bought it up."

Conway was known as a hometown hero. Pal John Rodio, 52, told RadarOnline.com, "She's a great person, a good mother to her children, a good person with good morals. You could disagree with her on the political issues but as a person she is genuine. The real thing."

An old boss of Conway’s told RadarOnline.com that he hired her at the Indian Brand Blueberry Farm while she was in high school and she impressed him even back then. George Mortellite explained that back in the day girls between the ages of 14 and 17 were hired to work as blueberry packagers so that they could earn money to buy clothes, including their prom dresses. "She was always on time, never complained," he said. "She was one of the best.”

"She's a grounded homegrown girl that is as tough as they come,” Mortellite told RadarOnline.com.