At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, senior Leah Simon spent six months at Rockaway Beach with her family.
“Me and my siblings, because we couldn’t really go into town… would just kind of explore the woods around us and the beach because there was no one out there,” Simon said. “It felt almost magical, because it was like, ‘Oh, this is just our place.’”
While she now understands that the beach wasn’t as secluded as she once thought, Simon still treasures these memories with her siblings. “Obviously, getting older, I know there’s probably a billion other people that have been there,” She said. “But as a young child, that was something that I always thought was really cool and special, and [it’s] a great memory I have with my brother and sister.”
Simon has two younger siblings, a twin brother and sister who are both 13 years old, and in their free time, enjoy running cross country. She deeply values her relationship with them.
“I get along great with my siblings, and I really credit that to our age gap,” said Simon, who is four and a half years older than her brother and sister.
Before going to La Salle, Simon attended St. John the Baptist Catholic School from kindergarten to eighth grade, where she loved the tight community that comes from attending a smaller school.
“It really meant a lot more being from a small community, because you felt so connected to everybody,” she said. While it was a difficult transition to La Salle, today, Simon appreciates the larger class sizes. “I really do see the beauty of both sides,” she said.
At La Salle, Simon has taken many electives, including Innovation Lab, Advanced Innovation Lab, Introduction to Theater, and Morning Choir.
She has experience in many clubs and extracurriculars as well: Simon performs for the school’s theater, participates in impromptu speaking and other events as a member of the Speech and Debate Team, and she’s one of the student ambassadors organizing La Salle’s Open House which will take place on Sunday, Oct. 5.
Simon’s long list of current and former clubs includes: Lasallian Youth, the Middle Eastern Student Union, the International Thespian Honors Society where she is an Officer of Inclusion, Book Club, Key Club, DIY Your Life, and Fiber Arts Club.
Her former speech and debate coach, Social Studies Teacher Mr. Michael Doran, has had the most impact on her over the course of her high school career, Simon said. Along with teaching history, her favorite subject, Mr. Doran’s infectious enthusiasm was a large part of why she joined Speech and Debate.
“From joining the team, I feel like I’ve gained a lot of life skills,” Simon said. “I’ve gained interpersonal skills, I’ve gained the ability to speak to people about all sorts of different topics, and I think I’ve gained self-confidence in using my own voice, and he really helped me develop those skills.”
After having visited Boston and the East Coast, Simon’s top school choices are Boston College and College of the Holy Cross.
“I’ve been to the schools,” she said. “I think they’d be great environments, I’m really, fingers crossed, I’m hoping to go to school somewhere out there, but if not on the East Coast, maybe California somewhere.”
