Schools

Local Teen is LGBT Leader

"I am gay and I take AP classes and I have a lot of friends. I'm just like anyone else," Laila Al-Shamma told the U-T about her choice to make her sexuality known on campus and help others who may feel isolated.

"When Laila Al-Shamma was 13 years old, she told her parents that she was gay. They were supportive, but the Encinitas teen was so afraid of how her friends, teachers and others would react, she decided to keep her sexuality a secret until she went away to college," reports the U-T San Diego

The La Costa Canyon High School student is now a school leader and won a national award for her leadership with the Gay-Straight Alliance at LCC in Carlsbad. A club she helped grow from 5 to 30 members as chapter president. 

But Laila wasn't always so open about who she was. 

Find out what's happening in Encinitaswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“I was so afraid of anyone finding out that I was gay that I disguised parts of my personality. I lied to most of my close friends about who I had a crush on. I avoided any clothing that insinuated masculinity. At times I even tried to make my voice sound higher so that I could appear more feminine,” wrote the U-T.

Laila wrote a column last year where she publically came out. The U-T explains, "One of the tipping points, Al-Shamma said, came a year ago when a fellow student who attended several GSA chapter meetings committed suicide. She worried that other students struggling with their sexuality had very few “visible allies” on campus to serve as role models. She decided to step into that void herself, no matter what the consequences."

Find out what's happening in Encinitaswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

She wanted to show other students that it's OK to be gay. “I am gay and I take AP classes and I have a lot of friends. I’m just like anyone else," she told the newspaper.

While Laila feared the worst and possible backlash, students did the opposite. They embraced her more and last month she was voted homecoming queen.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here