When Lucia Lecour ’26 looked around her hometown of Surfside, she noticed something missing. Young people had opinions about their community. They cared about local issues. They wanted to be involved. What they didn't have was a seat at the table.
"There was no formal platform for teens who were interested in advocacy or local government to get involved and share their opinions," Lucia said. Rather than accepting that reality, she decided to change it.
What began as conversations with town officials during her sophomore year eventually became the Surfside Youth Council, an official advisory body that gives young residents a voice in local government. Today, the council serves as a forum for civic engagement, leadership development and community advocacy while helping connect teenagers to the town they call home. The initiative reflects a philosophy that has guided much of Lucia's work throughout high school: meaningful change often starts close to home.
That commitment to service and civic engagement earned national and local recognition this year when she was named both a Coca-Cola Scholar and a Miami Herald Silver Knight Award recipient. Yet when asked what accomplishment she is most proud of, Lucia points not to an award but to the impact of the work itself.
One of her favorite Youth Council initiatives brought together elected officials, educators, environmental advocates and students from across South Florida for a civic engagement and environmental advocacy event.
Rather than simply discussing challenges facing their communities, participants explored practical ways to make a difference, from engaging with local and state governments to organizing initiatives of their own.
"A lot of times, kids are told about problems," Lucia said. "There is not always a lot of education about what we can actually do." For Lucia, that distinction matters. She believes service is most effective when it empowers others to take action.
The same mindset helped guide another initiative she is particularly proud of: the Youth Council's effort to advocate for Surfside's participation in the Biophilic Cities Network, an international movement focused on integrating nature, sustainability and resilience into urban planning. Working alongside town leaders and environmental advocates, the council helped advance the effort and encourage broader community involvement.
Yet some of Lucia's most meaningful service happens one person at a time.
For the past two years, she has volunteered with the Florida Immigrant Coalition, helping legal permanent residents navigate the path to U.S. citizenship. As a bilingual volunteer, Lucia assists applicants with paperwork and helps prepare them for the citizenship interview process, which includes English language and civics components.
"My dad is an immigrant, and many people in my community are immigrants," she said. "I wanted to use the opportunities I've been fortunate to have to help make someone else's life a little easier. " The work has given her a firsthand understanding of how intimidating complex systems can feel and how meaningful small acts of support can be.
That focus on practical problem-solving also shaped her experience in Pine Crest's three-year Social Entrepreneurship Program. The program challenged students to identify unmet needs, develop solutions and think creatively about how to create lasting impact. "It taught me to look for gaps," Lucia said. "To look for problems and opportunities where change can happen."
More importantly, it changed the way she thinks about leadership. Rather than viewing leadership as authority, she learned to see it as collaboration. "It's about understanding different people's skills and how they can contribute," she said. "It's not about being the loudest person in the room."
That perspective appears throughout her work. Whether she is organizing community events, helping immigrants prepare for citizenship interviews or working alongside local officials, Lucia consistently focuses on bringing people together around shared goals.
She credits her upbringing and her close connection to her community for shaping that outlook. Growing up in a small town taught her that communities do not thrive by accident. They thrive when people invest in them. "I just wanted to do something that would reconnect people to that feeling of being part of a community," she said.
This fall, Lucia will bring that same spirit to Stanford University, where she plans to continue exploring public service, entrepreneurship and civic engagement. One of the reasons she chose Stanford, she said, was the university's strong culture of service and the many opportunities students have to engage with local communities.
She is particularly excited to continue her work in advocacy and immigrant support while exploring new ways technology and innovation can help address complex social challenges.
Looking ahead, Lucia remains optimistic about the role young people can play in shaping the future. Her experience has taught her that age is rarely the barrier people assume it is. Sometimes the biggest challenge is simply believing that your voice matters.