Courtesy of Alex Sevatianos

Posing for a picture, junior Alex Sevastianos takes a picture with his parents along with Parkway South senior Subah Shovik and her mother. Sevastianos met Shovik from Spark and the two ran the campaign together. “We had really good communication with each other, and always checked up on whatever project we were working on for the campaign,” Sevastianos said.

After his grandfather passed, junior Alex Sevastianos sought to honor his legacy by creating positive change.

“After my grandfather’s passing six months ago, I made a promise to myself: I’d open up, try new things and bring about positive societal change. I figured if I could meet these goals, my grandfather would be proud of me and I’d be proud of myself too,” Sevastianos said.

This manifested itself in his work by joining the ‘Student of the Year’ program to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS). Sevastianos was inspired by his grandfather to help sick individuals.

“My grandfather was a great giver. Giving my time and efforts to an organization as worthwhile as LLS would be a great legacy to him. I am learning what I suspect my grandfather knew all along: that we get back more than what we give. I hope the same is true for the LLS, whose tireless work is deserving of it seeing a cancer-free future. I just hope I can be a small part of that reality,” Sevastianos said.

Sevastianos chose this organization specifically for the ‘Student of the Year’ program in which students compete in a seven-week competition to raise the most money.

“I was really inspired by the work they did, and non-profit business has always been something I’ve been interested in learning more about, so I applied and was accepted right on the spot,” Sevastianos said.

As a part of the program, Sevastianos created a pitch to give to store managers to encourage them to donate to LLS.

“I will admit the first pitch was really hard for me, but after I did it, I felt confident enough to keep doing it. I actually ended up enjoying it. This brings up one of my favorite sayings ‘you don’t know until you try,” Sevatianos said.

Sevastianos continued speaking with the store managers which encouraged him to be persistent.

“That’s what truly made me realize I was doing something I genuinely enjoyed and knew it was not only making a difference in the community,” Sevastianos said. “Hearing the stories from these managers about someone they had a connection to having Leukemia or Lymphoma was heartbreaking and reflecting on it brought me new perspectives and a type of gratitude I’d never experienced until then.”

Sevastianos encourages others to donate also.

“[You should] be open to trying new things, never look at something narrow-minded. You’ll never know what positive things could come out of it. It’s not about doing it, it’s about doing it well, and putting in all your effort. I gave [fundraising] a shot, and looked at what came out of it: thousands of dollars raised from just one person,” Sevastianos said.