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Kristen
Bennett, 11, Moss Bluff
6th grade, Moss Bluff Middle School
A brain tumor has left Kristen without the use of her lower body
and her treatment caused her to lose her hearing but it hasn’t
stopped her from being a tireless volunteer collecting food, Christmas
presents and clothes for the less fortunate. |
 Brandy
Lynn Duhon, 16, Rayne
11th grade, North Vermilion High School, Maurice
Despite having no lower arms and serious problems with her legs,
Brandy is second in her class with a 3.8 grade point average, types,
plays badminton and is the statistician for the sports teams at
North Vermilion High. |
 Brandon
Derrell Glover, 18, Gonzales
12th grade, East Ascension High
Brandon is classified as learning disabled but works as a teacher’s
aide in a class for seriously disabled students with autism, muscular
dystrophy and other neuromuscular diseases. He also holds two jobs
and runs track for East Ascension High. |
 Jennifer
Harris, 17, Harvey
11th grade, Cabrini High School, New Orleans
Jennifer is a member of the National Honor Society and on the Cabrini
High Cross Country team, but also finds time to work at a New Orleans
soup kitchen, volunteer at a local hospital, work with the elderly
and at day care centers, act as a mentor for her fellow students
and serve as a volunteer at a summer Bible camp. |
 Stanley
Hazelton, 17, St. Joseph
11th grade, Tensas Academy
Stanley is a straight-A student, an all-District halfback and a
member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at Tensas Academy
in St. Joseph. After losing both his father and stepfather to cancer,
Stanley helps his mother run a small restaurant and works two jobs
during the summer. He also finds time to volunteer at a center which
makes clothing and household items for the poor and serves as an
altar boy on Sundays. |
 Lauren
Johnson, 17, Natchitoches
12th grade, Natchitoches Central High
A traffic accident has confined Lauren to a wheelchair, but it has
not stopped her from being an honor roll student at Natchitoches
Central, a member of the Homecoming Court and volunteering her time
as a peer counselor to help other young trauma victims in North
Louisiana and Texas. Chosen as a Christmas Belle, she will help
promote her hometown in other cities around the state. One encouraging
note is that daily physical therapy is allowing her to slowly regain
the use of her legs. |
 Jana
"Blaire" Nunnally, 14, Houma
8th grade, Houma Jr. High
Blaire was born with cystic fibrosis and received a lung transplant
in 1995 to sustain her life. Despite the medical hardships she has
endured and the round the clock medical treatment she needs, Blaire
is an honor-roll student at Houma Junior High and helps take care
of her stepfather after he suffered a stroke. |
 Reginald
Lee “Pete” Pryor, 18, Westlake
12th grade, Westlake High School
Pete suffers from hypoglycemia and has a learning disability, but
unselfishly volunteers his summers at the Louisiana Lion’s
Club Children’s Camp for disabled children, works with special
education children at a local elementary school and has worked weekends
with Habitat for Humanity. |
 Katy
Lea Verlander, 10, Baton Rouge
5th grade, Audubon Elementary
Katy was born with a rare form of cancer that paralyzed her from
the chest down. She is in the Audubon Elementary gifted program
where she receives straight A’s. Kay is an accomplished violinist,
a peer tutor and volunteers in the school library. She was nominated
for East Baton Rouge Parish Student of the Year and was one of only
five children selected to speak at Louisiana’s Promise: Summit
on Youth that featured former President George Bush. She helps raise
money for Dreams Come True, St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital,
Candlelighters, Easter Seals and the March of Dimes. |
 John
William Wood, 17, Clinton
10th grade, Dunham School, Baton Rouge
John was diagnosed with leukemia when he was 10 and has battled
the disease off and on for the last 7 1/2 years. While on chemotherapy
in 1992, John pitched a perfect game in baseball and played football
while he was in remission. He plays the guitar and piano, is a straight-A
student at the Dunham School in Baton Rouge and has won numerous
academic competitions. While attending Silliman Institute in Clinton
last year, he was elected student vice-president of the Mississippi
Private School Association. |
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