Ranch Reflections are articles written by LRHS students and staff who want to share their experiences, thoughts, and concerns. This is a great opportunity for Mustangs to branch out beyond traditional news stories. In this edition an LRHS junior discusses how finding a community service opportunity changed her outlook on health.
Gabby Zevallos- Mustangs Ahead
(LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL)- This year I went looking looking for community service opportunities. I went from trying to do good for myself to finding an effort that helps millions of children around the world suffering with blood cancer.
Seven weeks ago, I joined Team Crushing Cancer, an out-of-school club run by Lakewood Ranch High School (LRHS) juniors Sofia Selbeck and Leah Duff. This team is a part of the 2026 Suncoast Student Visionaries with Blood Cancer United.
“Leah and I heard about blood cancer United from her cousin and joined as team members for a Fort Lauderdale team. We loved blood cancer United's mission and were determined to help expand it, we decided to create our own team in Lakewood ranch Bradenton area and run as candidates last year and continue this year,” stated Selbeck.
Throughout the past seven weeks, my team and I have been fundraising to support children with leukemia and lymphoma. We are working to fund cancer research, and advocate for patients, so kids like Owen, our Honored Here, never need to have another chemo treatment again.
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Owen is four years old and has beaten B. Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia. He was in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) for three months and had over 20 blood transfusions.
During his chemotherapy, he’d say he was “Helping his blood be brave.”
Now, Owen is in remission and loves to make people laugh; he is truly an inspiration to all.
Throughout this time, we have created fundraising pages, give back nights at local restaurants, and informational stands at Publix to work towards our goal.
To wrap up the campaign, last Friday, I attended the 2026 Student Visionaries of the Year Grand Finale. At this event, there were 18 candidate teams that were made up of 39 candidates and 257 team members. All together, we raised an outstanding $501,890 that will impact families affected by blood cancer.
At this event a bidding took place to get a final chance to support and we celebrated our hard work, and congratualted our winners.
Awards were announced for the teams’ candidates for advocacy, research, and the highest donations. After intense hard work, Selbeck and Duff were granted the award for advocacy, showcasing their public support.
Selbeck stated “We had various meetings with our advisor, planning and strategizing constantly. Throughout the campaign, we reminded our members of our mission of advocacy and policy for blood cancer patients. Winning the mission award was amazing! Leah and I did not expect it and we’re beyond happy.”