Life lessons in love, loyalty, and leadership
Life lessons in love, loyalty, and leadership are illustrated by students at St. Jude School on the west side of Cincinnati. Their loyalty to classmate Sophie Meinhardt has given them resolve to remain focused on their L3 mentality (Love, Loyalty and Leadership). Sophie, who would be a member of the St. Jude Class of 2019, lost her battle to pediatric brain cancer in 2006.
Sophie’s 5K Angel Run was set up by the Meinhardt family to honor the legacy of Sophie. This year the 8th grade and their teachers came up with an idea to keep Sophie’s memory (legacy) alive as resident Guardian Angel. The class, en masse, surprised Sophie’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Meinhardt by arriving at this year’s race in neon green Sophie’s Angel Shirts, with Sophie’s heart on them as well as a button with Sophie’s image. (See images) Mark and Missy Meinhardt, Sophie’s parents, were speechless, “We always knew St. Jude was a special community. This is even more proof St. Jude is a community which goes above and beyond. They take care of each other.”
The loyalty and leadership continued, as St. Jude’s Class of 2019, sporting the neon green Sophie’s shirts, showed their love, creating a special portrait, forming a heart----of students, which would later become a framed picture the students presented to the Meinhardts at an all-school Friday Mass, with a special presentation from the St. Jude Class of 2019.
The St. Jude 8th grade class of 2019 is a remarkable class with a very special guardian Angel.