Lake City: Luke Sharon ‘does what he says he is going to do’

Lake City High School Principal Deanne Clifford said recently that Luke Sharon is one of the most consequential student leaders she has ever worked with.

“He says what he believes, stands by his beliefs and does what he says he is going to do.” she said. “He shows up.”

Sharon, 18, has been involved in leadership roles throughout his education, but what perhaps sets him apart is his commitment to inclusion (“every voice counts,” he said) and understanding that getting a win can mean achieving a hard-fought-for compromise.

He thinks both big and small and how every action can impact some kind of community.

One of his most notable achievements at Lake City, of which there have been many, was his advocacy for mental health, which he said is under recognized as an issue among young adults. When his twin sister, Emma, had a mental health break, which she speaks openly about, her brother was inspired by her struggles and in awe of her recovery.

He led an effort to create an annual Mental Health Week at school, including readily available resources for students. With help from the Coeur d’Alene InterAct Club (affiliated with Rotary), he worked to bring to campus American Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, who has spoken about his own struggles with depression and anxiety. Sharon interviewed him at an assembly of 1,500 students and educators.

When students expressed dissatisfaction with the school district’s new dress code, as a member of the Student Advisory Board (made up of ABS presidents of Coeur d’Alene high schools), he helped lead a movement to modernize it. “We found things to agree on, learned from each other and came to a compromise,” Sharon said. “Not everything we wanted, but still good.”

On a smaller scale – but not to the people involved – when some students asked for partitions in the boys’ bathroom and wider doors in the stalls in the girls’ bathroom, he worked to make that happen, too. It all matters.

“He always seeks input from all stakeholders,” Clifford said.

Sharon’s list of involvements is long and varied, from being active in DECA and debate, working on voter registration and a host of other community- and school- based activities … including theater. He has performed with Lake City Playhouse and written a play, which had its debut at Lake City last month.

His parents (Melissa, a safety consultant for an international company, and David, who has multiple sclerosis) have long been involved in the community.

“They always told me that it’s not the money or the things, but the relationships you have,” he said. “That has always inspired me to be involved in some way.”

He remembers the significance of one particular Christmas when he was a boy. Tough economic circumstances meant there weren’t going to be Christmas presents for the four children that year. And then people came to the door with things for them. “Church people, people from community groups, neighbors. I particularly recall a gallon jug of pennies,” Sharon said. “They came to help us.

“I want to be that person, the person who brings help.”

He will be attending American University in Washington, D.C., this fall, made possible with grants and financial aid from the university. There he will be studying political science. He hopes to be a community organizer and then see where he goes from there.

“I know this sounds cheesy, but I really am interested in seeing how I can help make the world a better place,” he said. “I’d like to help the people feel they belong to a community, no matter where.”