Teens Making a Difference in the Acadiana Community: An Interview with the Teen Spirit Award Winners

In this episode, we interview the 2024 Acadiana Teen Spirit Award Winners who are making a difference in the community:

🏆 Aubrey David – 9th-grade student at Teurlings Catholic High School
🏆 Chloe Songne – 9th-grade student at New Iberia Senior High School

Aubrey David is an inspiring teenager with a heart for service and a drive to make a meaningful impact in her community. Through her initiative, Aubrey’s Amazing Grace, she has raised thousands of dollars to support families facing hardships, from cancer patients to those in need of housing assistance. Motivated by the example of her former teacher and her own family’s experience with fundraising, Aubrey has turned her compassion into action, organizing bake sales and fundraisers that not only provide financial relief but also bring hope to those in need. Beyond her philanthropic efforts, she is an active member of multiple school organizations and has ambitious goals for the future, aiming to become a chiropractor. Her dedication, empathy, and relentless pursuit of helping others demonstrate wisdom and kindness beyond her years, making her a role model for her peers and a young leader with a bright future ahead.

Chloe Songne is an inspirational teenager whose compassion, dedication, and vision for inclusivity set her apart as a true changemaker. As the oldest sibling to six brothers, including two with autism, she is deeply committed to advocating for individuals with special needs. Her work with the Autism Society of Acadiana, her efforts to improve accessibility at festivals, and her involvement in the Very Special Pageant highlight her drive to create a more inclusive world. Beyond her advocacy, Chloe’s leadership as Miss Teen Scott Boudin Festival Queen and her involvement in 4H and Beta Club demonstrate her well-rounded ambition and determination to make a difference. With a heart for service and a passion for education, Chloe’s future is undeniably bright, and she will continue to leave a lasting impact on her community and beyond.

Transcript

Hi I’m your host Mary Baudoin for This Ability Podcast. I’d like to give you, our listeners some background information about both of my guests today. Each teenager was nominated and chosen for our Teen Spirit Award because they both exemplified outstanding qualities of making an impact in the Acadiana community. My first guest is Aubrey David. She is the founder of Aubrey’s Amazing Grace, which supports the community by making items and hosting fundraisers, She has raised thousands of dollars to support families facing hardships, from cancer patients to those in need of housing assistance. Motivated by the example of her former teacher and her own family’s experience with fundraising, Aubrey has turned her compassion into action, organizing bake sales and fundraisers that not only provide financial relief but also bring hope to those in need. Her dedication, empathy, and relentless pursuit of helping others demonstrate wisdom and kindness beyond her years, making her a role model for her peers and a young leader with a bright future ahead.

My second guest today is Chloe Sogne, a dedicated advocate and passionate volunteer in the special needs community. Chloe wears many hats, including that of a festival queen, using her platform to bring awareness to special needs events across Acadiana.  She has spoken at autism meetings, sharing her perspective on growing up with brothers who have special needs and highlighting the importance of inclusion at community events. Chloe has volunteered at countless events for children with special needs and has even advocated for festivals to create sensory-friendly spaces—recognizing that the lively atmosphere can often be overwhelming.  Through her social media presence, Chloe amplifies awareness and encourages others to get involved. This September, she is particularly excited to volunteer at the Very Special Pageant, where she looks forward to making everyone feel as special and celebrated as a queen.  

And now let’s begin their episode:

Speaker 1 (00:09):

Thank you all for joining us for this special edition of This Ability Podcast, where we'll interview several teenagers in the Acadiana area who are making a difference in the community. Our first guest is Aubrey David, a ninth grade student who attends Teurlings Catholic High School. Welcome to the show. Tell our audience a little bit about yourself, where you're from, and a little bit about your family.

Aubrey David (00:32):

Hi, my name is Aubrey David. I'm in ninth grade and I'm going to Teurlings Catholic High. I live in Carencro, Louisiana, and I have a mom named Angelica David, a dad named Ross David, and my brother's named Carter David.

Speaker 1 (00:45):

Great. You have any pets?

Aubrey David (00:46):

I have a bunch of pets, two dogs, one named Nora and one named Briggs. I have a cat named Gracer. I have about 25 chickens.

Speaker 1 (00:57):

Nice. Do you take care of all the pets too, like the chickens, do you feed them or clean up their pen?

Aubrey David (01:03):

Yes. I also have one rabbit. Oh, and I also have two doves.

Speaker 1 (01:07):

Two doves. Sounds like a whole farm over there. << Little Miss Aubrey had a farm >> So Aubrey, you were nominated for the Teen Spirit Award, and I want to congratulate you for winning. You have done some amazing things in the community and I looked at your Facebook page. It is called Aubrey's Amazing Grace. So I'd like to ask you what inspired you to start with this?

Aubrey David (01:31):

So I had a teacher named Ms. Leah Fusile. She was actually my kindergarten teacher. And she does Sweet Shops at our school to raise money for people in the community, say someone's house caught on fire or someone's struggling to battle cancer. She just helps people around the community and it really inspired me to start my foundation to help other people like she's helped other people.

Speaker 1 (01:52):

That's incredible. I know that you've done some fundraisers. I'll just mention a few, but I want you to go through all of them because you've raised an incredible amount of money. You've done a bake sale for a cancer patient, Mr. John Odom, raised over $1,300 for his family. Funeral expenses for Ms. Cheri Leblanc. That was over $700. Tell me about as a group, all the other fundraisers that you've done and how much you've collectively raised.

Aubrey David (02:19):

Okay, so my first one I did was for Tara. She was also a cancer patient, and I raised $1,036. And then my second one was for Darian and he was also a cancer patient. And then I raised $1,215 for him. And then for Eli, I personally know him because me and his sister dance together. It's a very special one. And he had a kidney disease and I raised $3,200 for Eli.

Speaker 1 (02:44):

That's awesome.

Aubrey David (02:44):

And then the last two bake sales you mentioned where Cheri Leblanc who had cancer for $718. And the total is $8,000 that I raised for everybody.

Speaker 1 (02:56):

Wow. That's awesome. That is a wonderful thing to do for the community. How does that make you feel knowing that you're helping these families?

Aubrey David (03:04):

It makes me feel so great inside and I just love to help everybody just like the way I would want someone to help me if I was struggling.

Speaker 1 (03:12):

Yeah, no, that's definitely a great trait. Do you have any fundraisers coming up that you'd like our listeners to know about?

Aubrey David (03:18):

Yes. I have a fundraiser coming up, and I am raising money to help people build new homes for poverty-stricken families.

Speaker 1 (03:26):

Great.

Aubrey David (03:27):

And yes, the goal is $9,800 for these families.

Speaker 1 (03:29):

Wow, That's a big goal. I wanted to ask you, because I think you're such a great young lady, are you involved in any type of clubs or communities or your church?

Aubrey David (03:38):

Yes ma'am. I'm involved in a lot of clubs, so I do Music Ministry, 4H, Student Council, Beta.

Speaker 1 (03:47):

You do a lot. What do you plan to do after you graduate high school?

Aubrey David (03:51):

After I graduate high school, I want to be a chiropractor.

Speaker 1 (03:54):

That would be great. There's certainly a need for that. Remind everyone what your social media pages are, so that people can find out more information about your upcoming fundraisers and how they can get involved.

Aubrey David (04:08):

Okay. So I have a Facebook page called Aubrey's Amazing Grace, and that's the only social media platform I have as of now, but I hope to grow in the future and they could donate through Venmo.

Speaker 1 (04:17):

Okay. So whenever they contribute, they're contributing to you and then you make the contribution to the families?

Aubrey David (04:23):

Yes ma'am.

Speaker 1 (04:23):

Okay. All right. That's great. Is there anything else you'd like to mention that I didn't get a chance to ask you?

Angelica David (04:29):

I'm so proud of Aubrey. She wanted to do this on her own. Every time she sets her mind to something, she makes sure she does it, and she's learning that you don't always have to win or you don't always have to succeed, but as long as you try, try to reach your goals, that's all that matters.

Speaker 1 (04:44):

Well, that gives me a lot of hope, not just hearing about how you like to help people, but I like to hear good stories, which is why I started this podcast, for people to share their stories of how they are affected by someone with special needs or doing things in the community. So to hear your story and to hear how positive it is, it's good news. And I think it's nice to hear that and to share that instead of all the negativity that we hear on the news a lot. It's nice to hear something positive for a change.

Angelica David (05:16):

Absolutely.

Speaker 1 (05:16):

So thank y'all for being here today.

Aubrey David (05:17):

Thank you.

Angelica David (05:18):

Thank you. One other thing that Aubrey had mentioned earlier is that she wanted to start this because she looked up to her teacher who does Sweet Shops. She also mentioned to me too, I have a brother who has Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Speaker 1 (05:31):

Oh, I'm familiar. Okay, yeah.

Angelica David (05:34):

He's actually is 20 years old and before Aubrey was born, I did bake sales for him to try and help find a cure for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. So I was very involved in the NDA. When she was born, and old enough, she would start helping me bake and then she'd come to my fundraisers. That's why she didn't want to do things for the community, but she chose to do bake sales because she remembered what I used to do for my brother.

Speaker 1 (05:55):

I think it runs in the blood it seems like. Something y'all can do together, and one day when you have a family, you can pass that gene on to someone else. All right. Well thank you both for being here today. I really appreciate you sharing your story.

Aubrey David (06:07):

Thank you.

Speaker 1 (06:07):

Thank you. All right everyone. Thank you for listening to This Ability Podcast. We are continuing with our Teen Spirit Award, special edition of This Ability Podcast for teenagers who make a difference in the community. And today I have our second guest, Ms. Chloe Songne, a ninth grade student who attends New Iberia Senior High School. Welcome to the show.

Chloe Songne (06:30):

Thank you for having me. This is an amazing opportunity.

Speaker 1 (06:33):

Tell our audience a little bit about where you're from and a little bit about your family.

Chloe Songne (06:38):

Well, I'm from Iberia Parish, which is in New Iberia. My family, I have two autistic brothers who they're the brightest souls ever if you would meet them. They are absolutely amazing. And everything that I do sort of is based around them and my brothers and everyone in my family to make them make an impact on the world to make such an amazing thing and for everyone to be so accomplished.

Speaker 1 (07:02):

That's awesome. What are their names and what are their ages?

Chloe Songne (07:05):

I have one, his name is Noah. He is 11. And then I have another one, Leo, he just turned nine.

Speaker 1 (07:11):

And they both have autism, is that correct?

Chloe Songne (07:13):

Yes ma'am.

Speaker 1 (07:13):

Okay, and that's all your siblings?

Chloe Songne (07:15):

I have six brothers in total.

Speaker 1 (07:17):

Wow.

Chloe Songne (07:18):

Which is a lot.

Speaker 1 (07:18):

And you're the only girl?

Chloe Songne (07:18):

Yes, ma'am.

Speaker 1 (07:20):

Okay.

Chloe Songne (07:20):

And they're all younger than me and they are just so bright. And they also have other disabilities too. One of them has ADHD and one has dyslexia, but it's so amazing that they are so able to accomplish everything that they do.

Speaker 1 (07:33):

You are the reigning Miss Teen Scott Boudin Festival Queen, so congratulations on your title.

Chloe Songne (07:38):

Thank you.

Speaker 1 (07:39):

Tell us a little more about your responsibilities and what your goals are for the community.

Chloe Songne (07:44):

So my responsibilities is technically to just raise awareness of the Scott Boudin Festival. Our festival is just an amazing thing to do and it's so fun to see everyone get together and do Zydeco and eat boudin, and it's absolutely amazing. My goal for this is to technically just make an impact and to travel as much as I can to get the Scott Boudin Festival to expand more than it already has. Hopefully, in the future, my goal was to create a special place for disabled children for it to be easier for them to sort of, I guess, have a way in their festival because festivals can be big, humongous and a lot of people. So I just want that special little area for them to sort of relax and not be so overwhelmed.

Speaker 1 (08:25):

Sort of like a low sensory area.

Chloe Songne (08:27):

Yes ma'am.

Speaker 1 (08:27):

Oh, I think that's really nice to have. You are planning to volunteer with a great event, it's called the Very Special Pageant. Can you tell us a little bit more about that pageant and why you became involved to help them?

Chloe Songne (08:41):

So the Very Special Pageant, I have friends who are actually over there and they sort of just travel all around with us and it's just so amazing to see them. And with having disabled brothers myself, I just want to give back to them and sort of allow them to do, or help them with their organization, sort of spread awareness of it so they can have more very special queens and kings and everything.

Speaker 1 (09:03):

Definitely a great event for the community. I've noticed also that you volunteer with the Autism Society of Acadiana. What events have you volunteered for in the past? What was that experience like for you? What did you learn?

Chloe Songne (09:17):

So in New Iberia we had a couple things where the moms would get together and sort of talk a way to make the school boards sort of more engaged in the autism program. And I sort of spoke out about my experience with my brothers and it was just such an amazing experience for those moms to sort of understand where it's coming from a sister's point of view and just to see their way of seeing it differently and sort of push it even more.

Speaker 1 (09:42):

So they were on board with trying to make events a little more autistic-friendly?

Chloe Songne (09:48):

Yes ma'am.

Speaker 1 (09:48):

How does that affect you personally?

Chloe Songne (09:50):

It affects me, so I've had so many experience, even at parks or everything and a special needs kid would come up to me and be like, "Let's go play." And it's just so exciting to see that and especially go to those events where those kids are around and just to see their faces light up, especially even with crown and banner on or just walking around, it's just so exciting to see their faces just light up. Amazing. And it's just so adorable and truly something I will hold onto forever.

Speaker 1 (10:15):

I'd like to ask you, what are your plans to do after you graduate high school? Have you thought that far along?

Chloe Songne (10:22):

So somewhat, I hope to either become a teacher or a teacher in ag, which is I do 4H all the time. My whole life really, including everything else that I do. I hope to bring education including into agriculture and just spread that even more.

Speaker 1 (10:38):

You mentioned 4H. Are there any other clubs, organizations that you're a member of as far as school or any faith-based organizations or anything like that?

Chloe Songne (10:46):

I'm also a part of Beta and so much other clubs that when I actually get to high school and I actually get to experience it all, but for now it's just 4H and Beta for what I know already.

Speaker 1 (10:56):

Right. That's enough to keep you busy. So if anyone is listening and they're hearing you and they're inspired by you and they want to volunteer with you or with an organization that you are helping or they'd like to donate, what is the best way for them to reach you? Are you on social media and if so, how could they contact you?

Chloe Songne (11:15):

Yes ma'am, I am. So they could either message me on Facebook for Chloe Elizabeth Songne, Instagram, or even just reaching out on the Scott Boudin Festival page to sort of uplift that idea that I have of having a special needs area in festivals and hopefully that will encourage more festivals to sort of just add that because they do have VIP areas, but sometimes it's really expensive to get those VIP areas. So just to hopefully increase that.

Speaker 1 (11:40):

Agreed. I've asked you a good bit of questions. Do you have any final thoughts or any words that you'd like to close with? I want to congratulate you again on not just winning this award, but also on being the reigning queen and also for everything that you do in the special needs community. It's teenagers like yourself that really inspire me as an older person, seeing our youth get involved, it really makes me feel hopeful about our future, and it makes me feel good to know that there's good things happening. I like to highlight things that are nice and positive. There's a lot of negativity in the world and sometimes that's all we hear about, but I like to hear about things that are good, and it sounds like you're doing a lot of good in Acadiana.

Chloe Songne (12:25):

Thank you so much.

Speaker 1 (12:26):

Thank you Chloe.

Chloe Songne (12:26):

That's amazing.

Speaker 1 (12:26):

Absolutely.

Chloe Songne (12:26):

Thank you.

Speaker 1 (12:29):

All right, well you have a good afternoon and that's going to wrap up this episode of This Ability Podcast. Thank you for listening.

For those of you listening from outside Louisiana, Here’s a little information about the Boudin Festival. The Scott Boudin Festival provides a family-friendly atmosphere to listen to the best music South Louisiana has to offer, taste the best Boudin and foods which made Louisiana famous, and where kids of all ages can enjoy amusement rides, fireworks, and plenty of unique Arts & Crafts from talented artists and craftspersons. The proceeds generated by the Scott Boudin Festival are invested into area non-profit organizations, capital improvements to public areas, and City of Scott property and put back into hosting one of the best festivals in Louisiana.

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