Generations Against Bullying<\/a>, a Wisconsin-based anti-bullying organization that provides services and support for students, parents and schools.<\/p>\n\u201cWhenever I see bullying, I try to help,\u201d said Lucas. \u201cI just want to help [the kids] through their situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s inspiring is that he himself is autistic,\u201d said Lee Thennes, principal at Lucas\u2019 school. \u201cBut he certainly goes above and beyond in his call to the community. Kids see that, and they respect him very much for that.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Lucas\u2019 mind, being on the autism spectrum may have been the catalyst for his ability to be a changemaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I didn\u2019t have autism, I don\u2019t feel like I would have been bullied as much,\u201d he speculated. \u201c\u2026 Probably wouldn\u2019t have been in the community as much.\u201d<\/p>\n
Through his volunteerism, Lucas has been called upon to share his story and give speeches on behalf of the organizations he serves \u2013 even though public speaking isn\u2019t his favorite pastime.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image ” show_in_lightbox=”on” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” sticky=”off” align=”center” force_fullwidth=”on” always_center_on_mobile=”on” border_style=”solid” src=”http:\/\/gabnow.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/lucas3.jpg” _builder_version=”3.0.60″ alt=”Lucas Smith Miracle League Baseball” title_text=”Lucas Smith plays with the Miracle League, an organization that makes baseball accessible to children with special needs.” \/][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text – Photo Info” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” border_style=”solid” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial” _builder_version=”3.0.60″ text_font_size_last_edited=”on|tablet” text_text_color=”#71818c” text_font_size=”16″ text_font_size_phone=”17″]<\/p>\n
Photo Credit: Laura Zeimer<\/em>
\nLucas Smith plays with the Miracle League, an organization that makes baseball accessible to children with special needs.<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.60″ background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s kind of hard, but I try to get over it,\u201d Lucas said, referencing his anxiety. \u201cKnowing that if I do a speech and do it [well], without having to worry about stuff, it will help my organization.\u201d<\/p>\n
The community\u2019s response to his speeches is what hits home for Wendy. She recalled a recent event where Lucas spoke in front of an audience of 700 people.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had at least five people on our way out either stop and say, \u2018Luke, you inspire me\u2019 or come up to me or my husband and say, \u2018Wow, your kid inspires me and that\u2019s what I needed to hear today,\u2019\u201d Wendy said.<\/p>\n
Last year, Lucas was honored with a Prudential Spirit of Community Award, recognizing youth volunteerism. He gave his acceptance speech in front of the student body at his school, speaking about his community involvement.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image ” show_in_lightbox=”on” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” sticky=”off” align=”center” force_fullwidth=”on” always_center_on_mobile=”on” border_style=”solid” src=”http:\/\/gabnow.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/lucas2.jpg” _builder_version=”3.0.60″ alt=”Ananya Murali and Lucas Smith meet with actress Hilary Swank” title_text=”Ananya Murali and Lucas Smith, 2016 Prudential Spirit of Community Award State Honorees for Wisconsin, meet with actress Hilary Swank at the national award ceremony in Washington, D.C.” \/][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text – Photo Info” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” border_style=”solid” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial” _builder_version=”3.0.60″ text_font_size_last_edited=”on|tablet” text_text_color=”#71818c” text_font_size=”16″ text_font_size_phone=”17″]<\/p>\n
Photo Credit: Zach Harrison Photography<\/em>
\nAnanya Murali and Lucas Smith, 2016 Prudential Spirit of Community Award State Honorees for Wisconsin, meet with actress Hilary Swank at the national award ceremony in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.60″ background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n
Shortly after, according to Principal Lee Thennes, several other students approached staff to ask how they could volunteer. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of a neat opportunity for kids to get that reinforcement \u2013 that giving back to your community is an important thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lucas considers himself just a \u201cnormal teenager\u201d \u2013 someone who enjoys sports, the outdoors, being on his phone. And of course, helping others. <\/p>\n
\u201cBullying would normally hurt somebody, but it kind of helped give me the confidence to go further into the community,\u201d Lucas said. \u201cI stood up more than I stood down, after what happened. I just want to go far and help more.\u201d<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Meet GAB Peer Ambassador Lucas Smith. In May 2017, Lucas was a Daily Point of Light Award honoree. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":33200,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,74,33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-news","category-peer-ambassadors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gabnow.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gabnow.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gabnow.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gabnow.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gabnow.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33198"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gabnow.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33198\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gabnow.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gabnow.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gabnow.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gabnow.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}