Meet Leonard
2026 Scholar
Leukemia Survivor
Thanks to a generous survivorship program grant from Hyundai Hope On Wheels, twenty-three survivors were welcomed into the 2026 Children’s Cancer Cause College Scholars Program, representing both organizations’ strong investment in survivors and belief in their bright futures.
Each of these students receive a financial scholarship to help with academic expenses, and each Scholar commits to undertaking a volunteer project of their choosing related to childhood cancer advocacy.
“When I was three years old, my twin sister and I both became very ill with what my parents thought was a virus,” Leonard told us.
His sister improved, but he did not.
After several visits to the pediatrician without answers, the toddler suddenly lost the ability to walk. In the emergency room, he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).
He started chemo that evening and would spend the next several weeks in the hospital, followed by months of complications like pancreatitis and weight loss.
In total, treatment lasted three and a half years.
Leonard’s Advocacy Project
Leonard has a passion for prosthetics, the focus of his graduate studies at Northwestern University. During his undergraduate studies at Virginia Tech, he volunteered with a nonprofit that makes prosthetics for people in developing countries. He spent a week making prosthetics as a volunteer in Guatemala.
As a 2026 Scholar, he plans to continue this volunteer work and hopes to take another volunteer trip overseas.
“My goal is to continue using my skills as a prosthetics student to help those in need of limbs,” he says. “Not only that, but I want to inspire more people to pursue this career path, since there are fewer than 10,000 people in this field, and we need more of us to help the millions of people around the world who have lost a limb.”
