Target Range middle schoolers swarmed around speaker Luc Swensson following his talk on Thursday, with dozens taking off one of their shoes to have the 20-year-old nonprofit founder sign them.
Luc was at the school to spread awareness around mental health as part of his “I Love This Life” foundation, which he started when he was in fifth grade living in Great Falls.
Luc’s talk was part of a 19-day tour at schools across Montana, from rural towns like Hobson to Missoula. His next talk is in Bozeman where he’ll meet with a Montana State University football player who believes in Luc’s message of reducing stigma around mental health.
Both Luc and his father, Thor Swensson, were sporting bright pink sneakers walking around the gym at Target Range School. Luc told the students the shoes were similar to pink sneakers he was bullied for wearing in the fifth grade when he first started the foundation to raise money for cancer patients.
He told a story about going home after he was pushed around on the playground. He said he told his dad he wanted to quit and was ready to give up on working on the foundation.
“I learned a really important lesson that night,” Luc said. “When a moment like that happens, don’t make a decision directly after.”
Luc told the students he woke up the next morning and told his Dad he didn’t care what it took, he wasn’t going to let the kids on the playground cause him to quit.
“I want to find the brightest pair of pink shoes that I can possibly find,” Luc said he told his Dad. “I’m not going to let their words affect the people that I help.”
When Luc was 12 and forging on with his nonprofit foundation doing work in Idaho, the mayor of Boise asked Luc to expand his work to include advocating for mental health.
Luc told the students that soon after he did so, a mom of a daughter struggling with mental health issues from bullying reached out to see if he could talk to her.
Thor later told the Missoulian the daughter had been in the intensive care unit in the hospital after a suicide attempt.
Luc told the students the message of those two stories was, “your words have power.”
“I know sometimes it may not seem like it,” he said. “When you tell a joke to somebody, you don’t know how they’re going to take it.”
Luc also talked about the importance of forgiveness and forgiving yourself.
He said in January 2020, his mom walked out of his life into a winter storm.
“I remember sprinting around the street and that night screaming for my mom to come back,” he said. “By the time I reached the street end, she was gone.”
He got confirmation she was OK in the morning, but it weighed on him for a long time.
“Do I forgive her for the choices she made? Or do I forgive myself for not being able to do something that night after thinking I could?”
He started a workshop not long after to help kids with forgiveness — one of a half-dozen ventures Luc and his father have started as part of their foundation.
Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Tommy Mellott was a representative for the brand when he was a quarterback at Montana State University, and current MSU defensive back JJ Dolan has since taken up the torch. The foundation has also connected with an MSU cheerleader to help get more young women involved, Luc said.
Target Range Principal Dan Ries said he heard about Luc’s message at a conference and jumped at the opportunity to have him come speak to his students.
“I think kids relate to what he talks about — about trying something, getting made fun, getting harassed, and then having the courage to stand up,” Reis said.
It was a hard week for the Target Range community, Superintendent Jeff Crews said, sparing details out of respect for a grieving family. But given the timing, it was good for them to hear what Luc had to say.
“It’s nice to get a message about resilience,” Crews said.
Luc hopes kids walk away from his talks empowered they can do anything they set their minds to.
“No matter what you’re going through, no matter how hard it is, no matter how difficult it may be, that there’s always a brighter side to that, and you can go on and make change,” he said.
Thor said Luc receives hundreds of messages, sometimes just “thank yous” and other times things that are more serious. Luc said he’s thankful for his support system in moments like that. He says his wish is for kids to know they’re not alone.
“What kids struggle with, is they feel like no one else is going through what they’re going through, so to know that they’re not alone is the biggest piece,” he said.
“There’s no better feeling than knowing that you helped a kid,” he said.
Nicole Girten is the education reporter for the Ravalli Republic and the Missoulian.
You must be logged in to react.
Click any reaction to login.
Love
0
Funny
0
Wow
0
Sad
0
Angry
0
Get local news delivered to your inbox!
Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter.
* I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
Nicole Girten
Education reporter for the Ravalli Republic & Missoulian
Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily!
Your notification has been saved.
There was a problem saving your notification.
{{description}}
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Followed notifications
Please log in to use this feature
Log In
Don’t have an account? Sign Up Today