“Can’t. Breathe.” That’s all I could think as I gasped desperately for air, my lung critically ruptured. Time blurred: ambulance sirens, an operating room, then darkness. I awoke in a hospital bed, in pain and hooked up to tubes . . . but alive. The months that followed were filled with setbacks—from having to quit the sports I loved, to battling anxiety, to suddenly losing my beloved grandmother while I was still in the hospital recovering from surgery. 

 

By the grace of God, I made it through that difficult season, and remembered what my grandmother had told me: “Turn your pain into purpose.” I decided to give a talk about my experience to over 400 classmates, hoping to ignite even small sparks of courage, authenticity, and intention. To my surprise, many were deeply moved. Some classmates even took the lead themselves, bravely sharing their own stories and vulnerabilities—threads that, woven together, slowly began to mend the fabric of our class culture.

 

That experience taught me three powerful lessons about leadership:

• Youth inspire youth. We’d all heard adults talk about leading change—but it was peers showing up and speaking out that made it resonate.

• Anyone can be a leader. The students who stepped up didn’t necessarily hold titles or positions. Each simply had a deep desire to serve others—the heart of a true leader.

• Leadership matters. Even just one leader has the power to ignite a positive movement to uplift an entire community—think how much more a team of leaders could accomplish.

 

Shaped by those three realizations—and driven by my experiences in leadership roles across school, sports, music, and more—I launched Lead Forward to equip the next generation with the tools, courage, and heart to catalyze meaningful change.

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- Kenton Chan, Founder