June 17, 2019
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“He could have given up,” Lathrop
High principal Greg Leland said. “He
could have quit. He could have felt sorry
for himself. The family could have said this
is the end. Nobody did that. Nobody in the
family did that. Keannu never did that.”
Keannu had plenty of help. His older
sister, Callia, had just become a mother and
was pregnant with her second child. But
she sacrificed time with her children to
work as Keannu’s full-time caregiver.
“Helping my brother is a whole differ-
ent situation that I didn’t think I was going
to be going through,” Callia said. “But it’s
definitely rewarding seeing him get better.
Seeing his legs move more. Seeing his arms
move more. It kind of brings me some joy
seeing that.”
While Callia says it was an easy deci-
sion, it’s one her parents did not take for
granted.
“She dropped everything,” Alec Linnell
said. “And she knew what she had to do.
And in that process, she found out her
calling. What she wanted to do in life.
And this is what she wants to do. She’s an
amazing woman. She’s made all of us very,
very, very proud of her. She’s exactly what
everybody aspires to be when put in that
predicament.”
When Keannu returned to school full-
time in the spring of his junior year, he
had one major goal in mind: graduation.
But earning his diploma was not enough.
He wanted to get out of his wheelchair
and walk across the stage to receive it. And
so, on May 30, surrounded by his friends
and family, Keannu returned to the foot-
Keannu Linnell, center, received support from his family, teachers and friends in order to achieve his goal of
graduating high school. His older sister Callia, far left, became his full-time caregiver, in addition to caring for
her own two children.
“The very fact that they
said he’d never see his
17th birthday, let alone
graduate with his class
was an achievement in
itself.”
Alec Linnell
Keannu Linnell’s father
ball field and did just that. It was not how
he originally imagined it, but it was a far
greater accomplishment than any touch-
ProjectTHRIVE will
support LGBTQ youth
The Human Rights Campaign
Foundation and more than 15 of the
nation’s largest national organizations com-
mitted to the well-being of young people
have announced the launch of Project
THRIVE, a multi-year campaign that will
focus efforts coast-to-coast on improving
the lives of LGBTQ youth at home, in
school and in their communities.
This show of force across professions
and organizations is aimed at addressing
persistent challenges and barriers that not
only prevent LGBTQ young people from
thriving, but continue to compromise their
health and safety.
“Despite important advances in improv-
ing the lives of LGBTQ youth, data —
including from our own recent national
survey of 12,000 LGBTQ teens — reflect
a world where too many young people
continue to be targeted by bullies, rejected
by their families and discriminated against
by their own government simply because
of who they are,” said HRC President
Chad Griffin, upon the May 31 launch of
the initiative.“Today’s launch of Project
THRIVE marks the beginning of a
groundbreaking joint national effort that
will bring to bear the work, research and
passion of millions of professionals across
the country dedicated to addressing the
challenges and disparities our LGBTQ
young people continue to face.”
Organizations joining HRC Foundation
as partners in the Project THRIVE
include: Alliance for Strong Families
and Children, American Academy
of Pediatrics, American Counseling
Association, American Bar Association,
American Federation of Teachers, Big
Brothers Big Sisters of America, Child
Welfare League of America, Mental
Health America, National Association
of School Psychologists, National
Association of School Superintendents,
National Association of Social Workers,
National Parent Teacher Association,
National Association of Secondary School
Principals, National Education Association,
Point Source Youth and School Social
Work Association.
Project THRIVE, which is supported
by IKEA U.S. and the Annie E. Casey
Foundation, will target improved family
connections, relationships, communities
and educational and employment opportu-
nities that support LGBTQ youth well-be-
ing and success.
This campaign will have a height-
ened focus on vulnerable populations of
LGBTQ young people — in particular,
youth of color, those who are disconnected
from school and work, those who are in the
child welfare or juvenile justice system, and
those experiencing poverty.
Supportive parents, school adminis-
trators, teachers, counselors and other
youth-serving professionals play an essen-
tial role in the lives of LGBTQ youth. This
national partnership will inform a variety
of HRC Foundation programs for youth
and youth-serving professionals, includ-
ing the HRC Foundation’s Welcoming
Schools (www.welcomingschools.org)
and All Children-All Families programs
(www.hrc.org/resources/topic/all-chil-
dren-all-families); and its annual Time to
THRIVE conference.
www.acsa.org
Keannu Linnell on the football field during his sopho-
more year, before brain cancer and a stroke changed
him forever.
More Online
Watch the Emmy-nominated Every
Student Succeeding video series at
www.acsa.org. One video will be
released every Tuesday leading up to
the ESS Luncheon during Leadership
Summit in November.
down pass.
“I was thinking what am I going to
say to him to inspire him to stand?” Alec
Linnell said. “And I told him, ‘Stand my
son.’ I tried to yell it as loud as I could as if
I was at a football game. The very fact that
they said he’d never see his 17th birthday,
let alone graduate with his class was an
achievement in itself.”
When asked about the last 2 ½ years,
Keannu credited his work ethic.
“I never gave up,” Keannu said.
But there is still work to be done.
Keannu knows this. His family knows this.
But they remain steadfast in their com-
mitment and belief that Keannu will one
day play football again as he finds his new
normal.
“His journey has not ended,” Callia said.
“It’s just begun. We’re saying he’s going to
be even better. We’re saying that he’s going
to be whatever he wants to be. He’ll say
where he’s going to end up.”
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