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LHS alumni, turned author visits local schools

From staff reports

Published: Friday, October 26, 2012 2:53 PM CDT

Last week, Claire Legrand, a 2004 graduate of Lewisville High School (LHS) who has turned the heads of publishers to become a nationally-known author of fantasy and science fiction books for children and teens, made the journey from her new home in New York City to her roots in Lewisville for the Aug. 28 launch of her first book, "The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls."

While in Lewisville, Legrand sought out visits to several schools including LHS Main, LHS Harmon and Durham Middle School.

"I want to come back and tell kids it may not be easy and it may not turn out the way you think it will, but it's going to be okay," Legrand said.

Remembering guest speakers who visited during her time at LHS she said, "It's always so inspirational to realize that this is not the entire world in high school. There is a world beyond that, and I want to show this to the kids."

"My education in Lewisville was extremely important to forming me as a person....I remember every single teacher I had. They were all influential. They taught me how to be confident in myself and how to try to work toward these dreams that I had," Legrand said. "The diversity here really helped prepare me for the real world. And, (in Lewisville) the sense of taking pride in yourself and the organizations that you're a part of really taught me how to take pride in myself as a person and to be mindful of how I carry myself, how I represent my publisher; just like I used to think about how I represent my school."

Once a fighting farmer, always a fighting farmer. Having once sat in their seat, Legrand was able to connect with students at all three schools and her message about resilience, perseverance and dreams was simple.

"Dreams can change and that's OK. Maybe whoever wants to be a professional musician, a pilot, a scientist...maybe you want to be that right now, but maybe your dream will change," Legrand said to students. "I know it feels like right now, in high school, you have to figure out your whole life...You guys probably feel a lot of pressure to do that. I know I did, but you may get to college and decide you don't want to do the thing you always thought you wanted to do and that's okay. That's what college is for, that's what life is for; to explore different possibilities, to explore different dreams."

During her speech, which turned in to a question and answer session, Legrand prompted students to talk about their own dreams as she described her journey from Lewisville to New York City, from being a band student at LHS to music student at the University of North Texas and, most recently, what it took to become a fulltime writer and her journey to be published.

To make her point about perseverance and resilience, she brought along the stack of more than 50 rejection letters she received from publishers before she received her first acceptance letter.

Following a conversation about life's journey, Legrand read students an excerpt from her book. After hearing part of the creepy novel, students all hoped to receive a copy, but in the end she drew names and one student in each of her sessions received a signed copy. Legrand also brought bookmarks, which she signed for students.

"Claire's visit to Harmon really made an impact on our students," said LHS Harmon Principal Andy Plunkett. "Because she is from here and was able to connect with students on a personal level, I believe it helped them realize that they actually can achieve their dreams, we're not just telling them they can. It's going to take hard work, but like Claire, I believe in every one of them. They can be successful."

For information, on Legrand and her books visit www.claire-legrand.com. "The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls" is available at bookstores including amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.

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