Lifting Others Up- Making the World a Brighter Place Fund

Lou was the model student - passionate, motivated, and supportive of others' progress. I was always impressed by her unashamed approach to improving her life and expecting others to follow suit. There are very few people I've met in my life who also balanced working with playing so well. Lou worked hard and took time to create and share beautiful things and memories with others. Even after Lou was no longer my student, the thought of her boisterous laugh made me smile and chance reunions were so joyful! She was eager to brag about how good she was doing as we caught up and I felt lucky to be among those that rooted for her. Along with her talents, Lou had significant challenges that followed her, even in the best of times. When I learned she had passed, I was devastated, and yet, unexpectedly at peace. I was comforted by the realization that I had no regrets, having done all I could for her, and knew her family felt peace because they had done the same. The reassurance I felt in that moment urged me to put Lou's picture on my desk so it would motivate me to treat every student in such a way that I would not have any regrets about how much I did to help them value themselves. Since then I have been consistently reminded by Lou's memory to see the goodness and beauty in each person. Lou knew what it was like to struggle, and fought with her own mental health challenges fiercely. This struggle gave her tremendous empathy and power to help others. Lou's legacy is one that encourages people to look for the best in others and courageously put beauty out in the world - through creativity and genuine love - in spite of or even because of personal hardship. Lou organized a talent show for her class once. She encouraged each peer to share something they were passionate about or had practiced hard at, and as each went up to share, she cheered them on like a big sister. When it was her turn to go up she very humbly took the stage with her ukulele. Lou played and sang "Thank You for the Music" by ABBA - a perfect tribute to the way she lived life - not taking things for granted and blessing others with her creativity and talents. If everyone lived with as much boldness and love as Lou did, the world would be a much more trusting and bright place. That's why we made the title of the scholarship an acronym of her name - Lifting Others Up."