The 2024 Louisiana Young Heroes program is made possible through the generous support of our presenting sponsors.

The East Baton Rouge Parish Library, providing educational help to students, benefits our community and state.

The library offers live online tutoring through Homework.

Louisiana.

Registration and information are at EBS alchemy Homework Help and the Gail and Tom Benson Charitable Foundation, and with additional support from Community Coffee, the US Army Baton Rouge Recruiting Battalion, and Demko, McDonald's and original Hotel Baton Rouge.

With the Foundation for Excellence in Louisiana Public Broadcasting and viewers like you, thank you.

Hello, I'm Kara Sincere, and for almost three decades now, Louisiana Public Broadcasting has honored an inspiring group of students as Louisiana Young Heroes.

The seven people you're about to meet are smart, kind, and lead by example, even when that means dealing with incredible hardships.

But each has turned adversity into opportunity.

I've been fortunate to get to know the 2024 Young Heroes and report on their remarkable achievements.

We are delighted to share their stories with you right now.

He was our second child when I was pregnant.

They have you, do blood test to just to rule things out, to see what to plan for.

And we did the blood test and it came back positive with spinal bifida.

Cher Robertson, Hunter's mom, waited for long months, not knowing the fate of her second born.

She'd assumed there'd be a chance he couldn't walk or stand in the future.

She worried his life wouldn't be like other kids his age.

But instead of spina bifida, he was born with something entirely different.

When he came out, he had a black back.

That's the color of his skin.

It wrapped.

It went up to his neckline and went down and was a symmetrical line across his butt, and then wrapped around both sides of his arm, of his abdomen.

This condition is called congenital nevus, which is medical speak for a pigmented birthmark.

It's technically harmless despite its appearance, but it does leave children like Hunter more susceptible to skin cancer.

His family prays for the best every time he's biopsied, which happens annually now.

I just see it as a birthmark.

I don't.

It just doesn't put me to that kind of side.

Hunter doesn't see his birthmark as a negative.

He doesn't even recognize it as a condition.

The congenital nevus is something he's overcome.

The bullying, the taunts.

He's made peace with it.

That was his very first act of heroism.

His second act would come years down the line.

It started with his mother hearing what sounded like a little girl giggling across the lake behind their house.

She heard the sound in the wee hours of the morning.

I just let it go.

Maybe I'm hearing things.

Go back to reading.

I mean, this was ten, 15 seconds later.

I, hear it again, and now my mind starts going like it is this early.

Why?

Like what?

What's going on?

The next sound she heard was definitely a whimper.

Cher was sure of it this time.

A splash and more whimpering came, but this time it was coming from the direction of our house.

I was like, that sounds like it's coming from our house.

We don't have any kids in that span.

She had the family spread out across the bank to feel out where the sound could be coming from.

But Hunter didn't stay at the lake's edge.

Instead, he took a small boat into the water, rowing until he saw a small foot protruding from the lake.

Without his quick thinking, his neighbor might not have made it.

She was only four years old.

She was also nonverbal and autistic.

I mean, it's definitely taught me to be more open to my surroundings because there's always something that could happen or that will happen if I'm not being more, open.

I guess.

Though this act definitely qualifies Hunter as a hero in most books, this isn't where his story ends.

In fact, it's only the surface of his philanthropy.

After Hurricane Ida, Hunter cleaned yards and delivered meals to linemen working to restore power.

When the pandemic hit, he made sure to befriend another one of his neighbors.

He taught him how to fish.

I gave him a rod and he wrote it in.

I put it in the boat for him, and he was so proud of himself.

He.

I can't believe I just caught that.

I guess that's the basis of every call in my life.

So we got to fish with that.

He's still proud of that fish.

And fishing also happens to be one of his favorite pastimes.

Hunter and his older sister compete annually at fishing tournaments.

And in 2021, Hunter was named Southwest Bass Master Club Fisherman of the year, a huge achievement.

When we first become parents, we're eager to do things with our kids because we want them to experience life.

We want them to experience it all, but we want them to stay humble and stay true to themselves.

Hello.

Hello.

I wouldn't be where I am today without my support system.

My mom was my biggest, supporter.

17 year old Morgan Daigle credits her mother, Melissa, for her servant's heart.

Melissa was an active member of the Clifton community and an even bigger influence at Morgan School, Northwood High School.

She was amazing.

I like to use the phrase, altruistic personality.

It's basically you're devoted to the welfare of others.

And she just loved helping others.

She was a genuine person.

She never met a stranger.

Melissa's generous spirit was contagious, and Morgan would eventually follow suit if somebody called and needed help.

My mom was one of the first ones to go.

And I think that's why Morgan is where she is, because she sees that their mom's actions forever impacted the way Morgan and her sister approached community service.

Her lessons were so strong, they lasted even after she passed in 2023.

Melissa was diagnosed with stage four cancer in 2022 after an initial misdiagnoses.

The news was devastating for Morgan and her family.

It was a really hard experience, but my mother was such a strong person.

She experienced so much loss in her life.

But just knowing her, you could never tell that she had been through as much as she had went through.

Caitlin Jo, Freon Morgan's teacher, kept a close eye on her as she processed her mother's death.

How did Morgan respond to that?

You know, how was she like in class afterward?

Honestly, while everything was happening, there wasn't much of a change, which that just speaks to how Morgan is like.

She very rarely shows stress.

And I know with as many projects as she has go in, she has to feel stressed.

She has to feel tension, but like she just has this motto, like, we're going to take it one day at a time and we're going to figure it out.

And in the end, it's all going to work out the way it's supposed to work out.

Morgan use projects to work through her grief as a member of Northwood High School's Youth Volunteer Corps.

She was already a leader in her community, but Morgan and the teacher saw her mother's passing as another opportunity for altruism.

We were just looking for, like, activities to do.

We were growing our programs.

And so I was like, Morgan, how do you feel if we do chemo bangs?

The two settled on the Chemo Bag Drive, a fundraiser to supply cancer patients with essentials while they undergo chemotherapy.

The idea the chemo bags came up.

I just thought it was the most amazing thing ever.

Just the sense of being able to give back in my mother's honor.

Morgan organized groups of students to donate more than 120 bags to the Cabrini Cancer Center.

And that's just the surface of her community service.

In addition to her annual chemo bag drive, the high school junior promotes literacy to younger kids at her school.

We do different things where we read to little ones, and on my free time, when I have time, I'll go and read to different teachers class because we are a K through 12 school.

She's been class president for the past three years of high school, and she regularly volunteers at the Clifton Choctaw Tribe Community Center.

But of all of her accomplishments, her sister Chancey says she's the proudest of Morgan's resilience.

It's hard to find people that can relate with her.

Losing a parent at such a young age.

Our mom put our family together, and I'm just proud at how well Morgan is doing when it comes to that, that she is still seeing the rainbow on the other side of the storm.

Morgan hasn't decided what the future holds yet.

It's still a work in progress, but whatever she does, she hopes to continue her mother's legacy of community and service.

It's rare that someone finds their passion early in life, but Trey Bishop found his when he was young and it came from his father's praise.

God every day and change the world no matter which way it is, just in some way, shape or form.

Do something.

That phrase so simple and to the point had a profound impact on Trey's perspective.

He pondered those words at night.

Go out and change the world.

Wondering how he could live up to that standard.

I brought him to, Saint Joseph's Diner, where there were homeless there, and he was able to donate.

It takes one thing to open a door for our child, for them to say, oh, I want to do more.

I really didn't understand homelessness.

And we went do it, and I was okay with it.

guess she told me to do it.

So I did it.

And then I went out there and I saw how these people lived and how they don't have anywhere to go.

The homeless shelter she picked was packed to the brim with a group of people in need of bare necessities like toothpaste, food and socks.

Under the guidance of his mother and the influence of his father.

Trey purchased a $5 bag of socks and he delivered it to a person staying at the shelter.

Because then after that one time, he wanted socks.

He wanted blankets.

He wanted food for the homeless.

he worries when it gets cold outside, you know, when we have freezing temperatures.

Are they warm enough for Christmas?

He had his list for Santa and it was.

Take care of my little brother.

Yes, but can you bring some warm blankets for the homeless out there?

The advocacy bug had bitten him.

Hi there, I'm Trey.

I'm trying to raise money for Catholic services.

I'm Katie, and from then on, Trey was a local superhero, delivering more socks to the homeless shelter and becoming a reliable resource for community members after natural disasters.

During Hurricane Ida, he filled sandbags and delivered meals.

When the winter storm hit, Trey was right there delivering blankets and gathering supplies.

You really got to make sacrifices and leave stuff behind, and I truly feel bad for those people, those people who have worked all their lives to get what they have.

And then a natural disaster is just going to come through and wipe it all out.

But don't mistake Trey's advocacy for easy work.

While he may organize and research each of his projects, it is not without some difficulty.

Trey has three learning disabilities that make everyday tasks more difficult.

As a child, he was diagnosed with dyslexia, which was compounded by another disability called dysgraphia.

It limits his ability to transfer thoughts into written words.

Think of it like dyslexia, but for writing, it takes me a lot longer to write what I'm thinking and letters get mixed up.

Like which way does the S go?

Or T or J below the line?

Just common.

Like writing things that I truly struggle with and have to go back and rework it and make sure that I have it correct.

These setbacks are just that setbacks.

He uses them as a motivator to work harder to really make his efforts count.

So far, he's more than accomplish that.

My idea is that I'm going to go take all these political signs that are out on the roads, in cars, maybe in your windowsill even, and I'm going to try and recycle them for Louisiana.

The son of a former state representative, Trey is no stranger to the campaign trail or the garbage it leaves behind.

In Lafayette, you look at every single street corner, and it's just filled to the brim with signs.

There's no grass, there's nothing there anymore.

It's just political science.

And I thought, where do these signs go?

His research revealed that campaign signs are terrible for the environment.

These signs are made from corrugated cardboard coated in plastic.

These materials can take decades to decompose in a landfill.

And last but certainly not least, Trey fundraised $49,000 for Saint Bernadette Clinic and the Lord's Foundation in 2023.

The proceeds were used to help supply clinical resources.

But more than anything, Trey wants to inspire others with the same wonderful advice he was given.

Go out every day and change the world.

My first poem that I wrote was entitled Brown Skin Girl.

It was about me.

I just wrote all of the things that Brown skin girls embody.

You know, we're powerful.

We're really intelligent.

We carry the weight of the world on our shoulders.

So I wrote all I wrote about that.

George uses poetry as an avenue for expression as life around her becomes more complicated.

I really got into poetry seriously, after my brother died.

Her bonus brother, Tyron Henderson, was killed in 2022.

He was a mentor, a friend and an irreplaceable part of Gigi's life.

When her emotions became too difficult to acknowledge, pen to paper could relieve, if not heal, what she was going through.

I was just writing poems about him still being here.

Every time I start, it started to register that, you know, he's gone.

But the poems that I wrote about him were how much I love him, how much he helped me, how much he grow me.

And I had been kind of like in the holidays for us, like Christmas and also on birthdays.

So that was a time where she didn't get to enjoy herself.

How did she handle that?

well, I made the best of it.

We made the best of it as she told her.

We girls.

She has a fun loving spirit, so in a negative, she turns its opacity of poetry and grief reshaped GG's perspective.

She promised herself she'd always turn a negative into a positive.

I just started doing anything I put my mind to because let me know that, you know, time is really of the essence.

Time is really short and she live out her days doing what's best for herself and her community.

So far, that's exactly what she's doing.

Okay.

GJ is an excellent student.

She's a member of the National Honor Society, and she served on the East Baton Rouge Mayor's Youth Advisory Council.

There, she got to work with community members and really express how people her age see the city of Baton Rouge.

But these are the years.

These are my peak year.

They were my year or our like.

I was like, getting out of my shell.

So I ran for vice president of, Boys and Girls Club.

From there, I want to say, in ninth grade, I joined Mayor's Youth Council because I felt my hair was so amped up.

I feel like you want I'ma be vice president.

I got to take it all the way at school.

Her leadership skills carry over.

Teachers describe her as a pillar of her class, often taking the reins on large projects, especially those involving her history and heritage.

She is enthusiastic, a leader, compassionate, engaging.

she's one of those students where if she's not there, like the class goes, all you notice I notice like the class meals are because she brings, like, a light to the class.

This Black History Month, she helped organize a widespread effort to tell her community stories through food, poetry, and organizing.

The event was a huge success, and not only did she volunteer for every single event, but she got to showcase more of her talent and share it with the entire school.

She pulled up being a part of the planning committee and writing to bands that she executed during the Poetry Slam and the program, and had a standing ovation at the at the program.

What was that like watching that?

I was very proud because she expressed her pride and her black pride in her poetry, and it brought black pride to the entire school because this wasn't just, you know, mass African-American studies students in this program.

This was the entire school, 1200 students.

High school is almost over for this is her senior year.

She'll continue her philanthropy and volunteering into adulthood.

She plans to become a nurse.

And get this.

She'll be the first person in her immediate family to go to college.

She will become a nurse practitioner.

That is our goal.

That's what she's working towards.

And I do believe that is what she will become.

This part of Gigi's life is just diverse and epic, waiting to be completed.

When I was in sixth grade, I didn't do any extracurriculars.

I was just kind of a student and I wanted to do something.

So I decided to join the swim team with a couple of my friends.

It's really changed my life.

You know, I've done it for so many years.

Hudson rose through the ranks of his middle school swim program, quickly becoming a beloved member of the team.

But his decision to join would indirectly affect his journey.

Swimming would lead to lifeguard jobs, CPR training, and ultimately, Hudson saving someone's life.

Think of it like a set of circumstances made possible by impeccable timing.

I knew something was wrong and I jumped out of the car.

I made sure to see what was happening.

A man collapsed on a golf course at Hudson's Country Club job when he was 16.

Normally on lifeguard duty this day, he was working the courses with a friend.

When both decide to stop another one of life's small decisions.

You're walking up.

There's all of these people that are crowded around this man.

What did he look like at this point?

He was laid down.

They put something under his head to make sure he was at, like, concussed or anything.

And it was I mean, he couldn't breathe.

In this moment, everyone around Hudson was terrified.

The man was older and suffering from cardiac arrest.

It was unclear when the ambulance would show up, so Hudson drew deep within himself, searching for knowledge that could help.

Lifeguard training came to mind.

I made sure just to start doing compressions at the proper rate and, it was pretty scary.

You know, that's very stressful.

But someone came out with an 80, administer that and then waited for authorities to come.

Just keep giving compressions.

Keep it in the aid run.

How long were you doing compressions?

Do you know, in the moment, I was not entirely sure.

If I had to guess, I'd say around, like, 5 or 6 minutes.

Hudson kept compressing until the ambulance showed up and took over.

His quick thinking saved this man's life over time.

I mean, it got a little easier to accept.

And, I mean, I definitely realized that's something that I did, and it's a great thing that I did.

It's very wonderful that I, you know, was there at that moment.

I'm very lucky to have been.

Right place, right time and allow that man to keep keep letting something you said it was easier to accept that you did this.

That's an interesting way to put it.

Easier to accept?

What do you mean?

A lot of it was fear.

Because I didn't know whether that man had lived or died.

Hudson's heroics earned him a certificate of appreciation from the chief of Canada's fire department and the general manager of the country club, but very impressive talking to both the fire department and the people that were there about, you know, they've seen, you know, people that knew what to do but didn't jump into action and do it.

This event, though life altering, is hardly Hudson's only achievement.

He's a leader among his peers.

He's up for swim captain at his school.

Even though he wasn't the captain, the coach is always calling Hudson.

Get everybody over here, Hudson.

You know, because they know he's just a natural leader.

Everybody swarms around and follows what he says to do, and it's just amazing to watch that in action.

And he manages the girls basketball team.

And when that schedule gets too grueling, he participates in Louisiana Association of Student Councils.

He just recently ran for executive board by vice president for next year.

And he was telling us about the speeches they had to give speeches.

He's like, oh, you know, some of the other guys were talking about all the accolades and everything they had accomplished.

And I just told them what student council meant to me and what it's done for me.

And I hope that I could do the same for them.

When Hudson is finished with high school, his goal is to continue helping others with a biomedical engineering degree.

I want to do research on stem cells, heart attacks and strokes and stuff that permanently damaged cells in your heart that can't regenerate.

But if we were to be able to successfully use stem cells to help that, I mean the death by heart attack and stroke and heart problems would go down significantly.

This is yet another decision in Hudson's life.

Who knows where it will take in this time?

But if his past is any indicator of his future, it's definitely a bright one.

An adjustment for Staley is her entire world a just 14?

She, along with the trainer, have turned Dolly into an award winning equine an and A herself.

She's a talented equestrian and a vibrant teenager.

But back in 2009, doctors thought this life would have been impossible.

And I was born May 6th, 2009.

She was born by C-section because doctors had already found that she had a congenital malformation in her lungs.

And my 20 week ultrasound is a long road.

They didn't know if she was going to make it through the pregnancy.

The diagnosis was congenital cystic acne Toid or a benign lung lesion that continued to grow.

But in Anna's case, the prognosis was bleak.

There was talk about having surgery on her lungs while I was pregnant when she was born.

They thought that she was going to make it out, you know, or have to have surgery on her lungs whenever she came out.

What was that like for you?

I mean, this is your first baby.

It was.

It was pretty daunting.

You know, there is a lot of, prayers.

And I came home without surgery on her lung.

That wouldn't come until she was five months.

Jocelyn had let go.

Who put her in the arms of her surgeon named Faith.

And, as she made it through.

So at five months old, she had the lower left lobe of her long take taken out.

To this day, she only has a lung and a half lung and a half now.

And so we were told that she was never going to be an athlete, that, she'll never be able to run long distances.

She will be asthmatic.

She will never live a normal life.

But that never came to fruition.

Instead, Jocelyn would raise a smart girl with a knack for community service.

Her love of horseback riding started young at four, to be exact.

I just think it's just another connection.

And, It makes me calm.

Brings peace.

So brings peace.

And it became active in the lives of others facing health problems as well.

She developed Drink Pink Day in 2013.

It's a lemonade stand and a bake sale to fundraise for cancer patients.

All the money goes toward Maribeth Perkins Cancer Center.

Well, why do you keep doing this year after year?

I don't know.

I think it's because I like to see all the people when we do the lemonade stand and how they all come to support us and everything.

And then we have survivors to come and like and purchase things.

And I just like seeing the people's faces when we donate the check.

And like, I get to learn about the whole process and how the treatment works and, just they get so excited when we, like, give the check and everything.

To this day, Anna has raised more than $32,000 for the hospital.

I look at my mom like, we did that, and she's like, yeah.

And so it just, I don't know, it just makes me happy.

Her community service doesn't stop there.

Anna also volunteers for Team of Dreams, which is a baseball league for kids with disabilities, and they get so excited in everything and especially like their family is also supportive and like the stands are filled with their family members say like, hey!

And then like, they dance when they get to home plate and everything.

It's like, it's just so much fun.

And when high school is all over and it's time for college, she's got a few options already picked out.

I want to major in, equine veterinarian services.

Her mother says her daughter's future is bright.

But no matter what she does, Jocelyn says she's just proud to be her mother.

When I was named Anna Joy, I never, I guess I never really thought to think about all the joy she'd bring to other people's lives.

You know, and, it's pretty cool to watch and see everything that she puts back into the world.

Another 2024 young here we're celebrating is Lauren Swanson from Gonzalez.

She was diagnosed with dense deposit disease in 2020, requiring multiple hospital visits over the years.

She's been recovering from a kidney transplant she received this past February.

But even with medical issues, she's helped facilitate multiple service projects, disaster outreach and is cheered on her softball team from the dugout.

We were delighted that she could join us on Young Heroes Day.

Let's take a quick look at what that special day included.

The young heroes and their families traveled around the state for Louisiana Young Heroes Day.

They were honored with the Certificate of appreciation from East Baton Rouge Mayor President Sharon Weston Broome.

Then they got to tour the LPB studio to see where Ziggy's Arts Adventure and Louisiana State were and are produced.

The honorees also got a duffel bag full of surprises from program sponsors.

Next, the group got a behind the scenes tour of LSU football operations.

Then it was off to the governor's mansion for lunch.

They got to hear from the director of the East Baton Rouge Parish Library and got official statements from Governor Landry's office.

Things wrapped up at the state capitol, where the young heroes were recognized, and the House chamber then took a trip to the observation deck.

What a great day.

We thank everyone involved for making the Louisiana Young Heroes program possible.

And thank you for joining us for LPB.

I'm Kara Sincere.

The 2024 Louisiana Young Heroes program is made possible through the generous support of our presenting sponsors.

The East Baton Rouge Parish Library, providing educational help to students, benefits our community and state.

The library offers live online tutoring through Homework.

Louisiana.

Registration and information are at EBS PLC's com slash homework help and the Gail and Tom Benson Charitable Foundation, with additional support from Community Coffee, the US Army Baton Rouge Recruiting Battalion and Demko McDonald's and Origin Hotel, Baton Rouge.

With the Foundation for Excellence in Louisiana Public Broadcasting and viewers like you, thank you.