Luke Sharon, Senior
Lake City High School
Lake City High School principal Deanne Clifford describes senior Luke Sharon as an exceptional leader who is incredibly passionate about students' social-emotional well-being.
"He is an excellent communicator and is a very strong voice for student advocacy at Lake City High School and across our district," she says. "Luke is one of the most accomplished, effective student leaders I have ever worked with!”
Luke was elected class president each year in grades nine through 11 and has been involved in various leadership organizations, both in and out of school. Now this year’s Student Body president, Luke enjoys "bringing ideas that I hear from around the school to fruition,” he says. “I’ve noticed often that students, and even teachers, might express a desire for something to be done but lack a plan or a course of action. I enjoy taking those ideas, running with them, and making them a reality.”
Last year, Luke successfully petitioned the district for better privacy in the men’s restrooms, with the argument that “with better facilities, students will respect said facilities more.”
He has also successfully competed in the Lake City Debate team and DECA program at the state level, and has participated in several school play productions.
“He has served for multiple years and now leads our school board’s Student Advisory Group (SAG),” Deanne says. “He created, successfully organizes and implements our annual LCHS Mental Health Week, bringing information and resources from the community into our school each year.”
Luke was instrumental in securing a Michael Phelps visit to district high schools, working countless hours preparing for the panel discussion for assemblies at each school.
“With the help of Alexander Nipp, a student from our sister high school, we organized a mental health awareness event through our Interact Club of Coeur d’Alene,” Luke says. “The event featured Michael Phelps, who visited LCHS, Coeur d’Alene High School, and the KROC Center to discuss his mental health journey. I had the privilege of sharing the stage with him, asking questions about his mental well-being.”
Luke says the students had to raise a significant amount of money, coordinate with various organizations, and meticulously plan the event to make it happen.
“Ultimately, we were able to share something valuable with our community. This topic is particularly important in our county, where the adult suicide rate is alarmingly high and the youth suicide rate is unfortunately on the rise.”
Luke says the most important life lesson he's learned is that it's okay to ask for help, whether it's planning a school event or in managing his own mental health.
Upon graduation, Luke plans to earn a degree in political science or pre-law. “My main career interest is lawmaking,” he says. “I’ve volunteered on various political campaigns and, last spring, a few others and I had the honor of creating House Resolution 262, which supports teaching a well-rounded environmental education, and then lobbying for said resolution in D.C.”