LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

April Leon was nominated by her spouse, Marco Leon.

Mrs. Leon's journey started with a Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice. She was going to be a lawyer and help the less fortunate by providing them access to a great attorney. Putting her law school dreams on hold, she worked with adolescent girls at a mental health agency and realized that her passion was more in the field of young people and not adults. She returned to school for her Master's degree, taking a pay cut working in the schools as she completed her School Counseling Program. This is where a LifeChanger was born. 

Mrs. Leon has a heart of gold. Before she became a Licensed Professional School Counselor, she was already a school counselor. During her internship, where she worked as a Guidance Technician, a secretary to the Student Services Department, she was known as "the fourth counselor." Her colleagues know her as a kid magnet. Students would say, "she gets us." Mrs. Leon advocates for all students, regardless of their skin color, abilities, or education level.

Mrs. Leon started her Counseling Career at the middle school level. One thing she did not tolerate was bullying of any sort. In October, Mrs. Leon took pride in leading various bullying prevention activities, such as signing a no-bullying pledge and creating a breakout box for bullying. As part of the breakout box, students had to figure out the code to open the toolbox with bullying prevention resources. She also led spirit weeks to promote no bullying and created a bullying prevention video. In short: she's an anti-bullying advocate.

Mrs. Leon was challenged by her principal when hired to enter the district's annual bullying prevention contest. She brought home second place at the middle school level the first year she entered. For the following three years, Mrs. Leon got first place. Mrs. Leon took a break during the COVID pandemic but returned with a second-place win in 2021-2022. (Check out the videos here https://sites.google.com/wcpss.net/leons-counseling-lounge/bullying-prevention).

Mrs. Leon made students at her school feel safe because they knew they had someone in their corner who would always protect them. She started up an after-school club that she called Homework Club. The purpose was for students who did not have access to the internet, computers, printers, or a quiet space to work on assignments to stay after school and get their work done. She also opened it up for students who wanted to hold study groups and work on group projects, leveling the playing field for all students to have access to good grades. Teachers even offered to come and assist students with any questions they had and work with them on assignments for their class. Students also enjoyed attending because they had a safe space where they were cared for and where they belonged. It made students feel good when their grades increased because of the time and effort they would put in.

Mrs. Leon led her school's chapter of the Builder's Club, the largest service organization for middle school and junior high students, with more than 45,000 members worldwide. She also led a Girl Talk Club where adolescent girls could speak about what they deal with on a daily basis. Students enjoyed having an outlet where they could be themselves and not be judged. Mrs. Leon always provided students with that opportunity.

As she needed a change and wanted to do more for students, she recently switched to high school in February 2022, where she is always racking her brain on how she can get students and their families more engaged in their academic careers. Mrs. Leon is always trying to find an effective way to help students struggling with academic success. She has reached out to community advocates to try and get them to come and speak with her department about what the community needs from school to make them feel valued. She also enrolled in a Spanish 101 course provided by her district to help increase communication between her school and Spanish-speaking families.  

Mrs. Leon also shows up for students outside of school, attending various sporting events to show them that she cares about the whole student and not just their academics. She also checks in on former students to ensure they are doing well academically. All the time, Mrs. Leon hears from former parents about how much she helped their child and how when their child was having a problem, they would tell their parents, "I will just talk to Mrs. Leon when I get to school; she knows what to do."

Mrs. Leon does not look for recognition because, to her, she is just doing her job. She sees herself as her students' "Guardian Angel," always calling them "her babies," and often tells them if they are not doing right, she is not doing a good job. Mrs. Leon is a LifeChanger. She comes into students' lives and provides them with hope. Mrs. Leon has only been a School Counselor for almost seven years, but her impact will last a lifetime on her students. Her motto is "All children are unique in their own way. Building relationships is key to their success. Listening and respect go a long way."