“People aren’t remembered by the material items that they have or where they live, but it’s how they treat others that no one ever forgets,” says Emily LeBlanc, a junior at Academy of the Sacred Heart. “Being involved in your community not only has a positive effect on those struggling, but it also helps the community thrive.”
Leblanc has focused her student activism on leading a fundraising campaign for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. She participated in this year’s “Student of the Year Campaign.” During this time, she committed a lot of time and effort raising money for a cause and organization that she didn’t know much about.
Through that fundraising, LeBlanc became passionate in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. “The little activism that I’ve done in my life so far has taught me that everyone has good in them and that it’s our job to take the time to see that good,” says Leblanc.
Leblanc says, “Helping others has made me grateful for the life that I have, and it has also made me have a better perspective on life and what’s truly important.”
She also is involved with the service at Grace at the Greenlight, a nonprofit that serves hot breakfast to the homeless in New Orleans.
During her ninth grade project, LeBlanc convinced her dad to go to Grace at the Greenlight to help her video her experience of feeding the homeless.
“That day a man told me, ‘The one thing that people can never take away from you is how you treat others.’ This one sentence meant so much to me because it made me realize that even if you don’t have a house, family or anything in life you can still treat people with love and kindness,” says LeBlanc.
“Helping others will always be a major part of my life, especially in the future because I’m so passionate about it,” she adds.
Helping others runs in the family; Price LeBlanc, her grandfather, sparked the desire to help others at a young age.
“The love that he showed every person he met inspired me from a young age to radiate the same love that he always did,” says Leblanc.
LeBlanc spends her time outside of school and volunteering listening to music, painting, traveling and hanging out with friends. She isn’t sure where she wants to go to college, but after she hopes to have a job where she can positively impact others.