Leon Ford wheeled himself in front of a group of high school students on Friday and told them his story.

“I was pulled over by the police. I was shot multiple times. I’m paralyzed. I was 19.”

A Pittsburgh police officer shot Ford during a 2012 traffic stop in Highland Park. Ford claimed police used excessive force. Police said Ford refused to exit his car and acted as if he might have a gun.

Ford is Black. The officer who shot him is white.

His self-identity was forever changed. He redefined himself: Ford took the traumatic feeling and became an activist to help others. 

“In life, things happen,” said Ford, who grew up in Pittsburgh’s Larimer neighborhood. “Life is not perfect. But you have to move forward.”

Ford was the keynote speaker Friday at Woodland Hills High School in Churchill at the fourth annual Student Summit.

His message gave the students a sense of empowerment, said Erin Wall, a Woodland Hills English teacher and summit co-sponsor. High school students from various communities throughout Western Pennsylvania gather for a day of discussion and action.

Students from nine high schools — Aliquippa, Avonworth, Belle Vernon, Greater Johnstown, Mt. Lebanon, Penn Hills, Shaler, Westmont Hilltop and host Woodland Hills — split into groups throughout the day to share their thoughts with their peers.

The summit is a platform for young people to choose topics of concern to them.

The students rotated sessions throughout the day, each lasting less than 50 minutes. The topics, developed by student leaders who led each session, were women’s rights, LGBTQ+, mental health, quality animal care, racial and social injustice, climate change and gun violence.

Louis B. Ruediger | Tribune-Review Activist Leon Ford speaks to students during the fourth annual Student Summit at Woodland Hills High School in Churchill on Friday.  

Ford addressed the students during lunch. He noted society is coping with so many issues. Ford said the students are fortunate to have such a forum to talk about them.

“Now that you are aware and have more information let’s lean in to these issues, let’s become resilient and innovators and creators,” Ford said. “Let’s solve these problems so that we can create a healthy society for our families and communities to thrive.”

Making something come of the discussions at these summits — this was the fourth and the largest, with 200 students participating — is the reason for doing them, Wall said.

Several groups created action plans, from collecting clothing donations in order to pack duffle bags for foster children, to painting rocks to symbolize those impacted by gun violence, to turning botanical paper into flowers.

The Student Summit was possible in part to collaborations with Penn State Extension 4-H and the L.I.G.H.T. Education Initiative.

The original idea for the summit came after Woodland Hills’ Antwon Rose Jr., a Black teenager, was shot killed by East Pittsburgh police officer Michael Rosfeld, who is white, in 2018, triggering protests locally and nationwide.

Students wanted a voice. They wanted to do something, said Wall. They wanted something good to come from something bad — just like Ford talked about.

“Leon’s words are essential to the topics the students discussed,” Wall said. “In life, you will battle adversity? And it’s about making a positive out of something negative.”

Ford, who is partnering with Woodland Hills for a six-week mentoring program, said he wants to make a difference through sharing his story with young people.

He plans to talk more in-depth during mentoring about all the challenges and heartache he’s had in his life, from his father being in prison, to his son being born the same day he was in the same hospital being treated for his gunshot wounds, to the deaths of his sister and a good friend.

Sometimes, Ford said, you have to focus on a loss to get a win: Ford met with the policeman who shot him.

Hearing that Ford did that was inspirational to Leviticus McGraw-Sapp, a Woodland Hills senior.

“What happened to him shows the system is messed up,” McGraw-Sapp said. “I am not related to him, but I see him as a brother. He turned a negative into a positive, and that speaks volumes to the type of person he is. The fact he met with the policeman who shot him — wow — that is powerful.”

In addition to gun violence, Ford also talked about racial and social injustice and mental health.

Louis B. Ruediger | Tribune-Review Penn Hills student Tanasha Jackson signs a banner at the fourth annual Student Summit at Woodland Hills High School in Churchill on Friday.  

“Mental health is so important,” said Penn Hills senior Tanasha Jackson.

She and her classmate Aalona Snell, also a senior, agreed it was an informative day.

“It is important to consider our points of view,” said Aalona, who is student council president. “We need to hear different people’s perspectives. We are important, because we are the future.”

Teens need to be heard, said Adahline Bierch, a Shaler freshman. She said things are different for teens than they were years ago.

“We have different experiences and different approaches to things,” Adahline said. “Social media is very powerful and it wasn’t around years ago.”

Emile Gumpher, a Shaler sophomore, said she learned a lot and that it was great to interact with students from other schools.

The summit included more interactive communication through smart boards and smart phones.

Students were invited to share their thoughts on a colorful mural with the topics written on it and a purple heart — Rose’s favorite color. The teens used Sharpies to write messages that will be preserved.

“It’s a visual representation of what happened,” Wall said. “Some of them might not want to talk. But they can express themselves through the written word. It’s another place to voice their feelings.”

Communicating those feelings is so important, Ford said, even if that’s difficult. As hard as it was for him to meet with the policeman who shot him, he said it was a way to make the community safer for both of them.

Logan DeLuca, a Shaler senior, said Ford’s speech was moving.

Ford created The Hear Foundation with former Pittsburgh Police Chief Scott Schubert.

“There has to be communication — because you see what happens when there is a lack of communication,” said Ford.

He plans to release a book this year titled “Leon Ford Speaks.”

As Ford wheeled himself out of the cafeteria, students and teachers approached him to offer thanks and support of his mission.

Wall hopes to make next year’s fifth summit bigger and better. It’s about providing as much positivity as possible for the students, she said, and heeding the words of Ford to continue moving forward.

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