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Simonne Lenseigne '22
Throughout the past decade, Simonne Lenseigne ’22 has accomplished significant work overseas with refugees in need. Her story begins with her own experience being evacuated from Turkey in the Summer of 2016, which led to her family encountering Oakcrest as they settled in Virginia.
“By a miracle only God could orchestrate, and the magnanimity of the Oakcrest administration, they were able to squeeze me into their seventh grade class with only a few weeks left in the summer,” she recalls.
With her Oakcrest education and formation, Simonne founded a charitable organization, Cherubs for Change, helping more than 70 Afghan refugee families in the DMV area. Her passion for this type of charity work led her on a study abroad trip this past year to South Africa, where she volunteered at the Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town, preparing and connecting refugees with employment opportunities.
A rising junior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Simonne is double majoring in biology and political science. She explains that her Oakcrest education inspired her current field of study.
“Oakcrest was the first school I attended where STEM courses were a core part of the curriculum, and the teachers were passionate and excited to teach the foundations of life,” Simonne says. “I quickly learned through my science classes that if you’re ever doubting your faith, just look at a cell. The most basic unit of life, and yet the most intricately and perfectly designed, reflects an intelligent Creator.”
Read Simonne's complete profile here.
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