LATO’S LOVE TO LEXIE, LEAVING TO RETURN TO CHINA

On Saturday, May 19, 2018, six of LATO’s team members gathered to honor Lexie Liu, who had volunteered with LATO for three years. She had just earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Temple University, and was returning the next day to her home in China.

Lexie and the team members gathered at the London Grill restaurant in the Fairmount section of Philadelphia for Lexie’s last supper in the city. Dr. Clara Whaley Perkins, founder and chair of LATO, presented Lexie with a certificate acknowledging Lexie’s multi-faceted activities on behalf of LATO.

Lexie’s talents included assisting with the logistics of LATO-sponsored conferences at Temple University, which is where Lexie first introduced herself to LATO. She also lent her artistic flair by designing online pieces promoting various LATO events. One example was a poster for a competition among high school students to create a video public service announcement (PSA). Its goal was to alert teens to common lures used by online predators looking to ensnare unsuspecting school children into Childhood Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC), a form of human trafficking.

She also had edited an excerpt from last year’s LATO conference, smoothing over some of the original video challenges. As a result, the piece will be useful for numerous purposes, ranging from Town Hall presentations, to website online viewing.

In the Fall, Lexie will expand her international experiences by beginning work on her master’s degree in counseling psychology in Budapest, Hungary. Her focus will be on international students and immigrants.

LATO was fortunate to have experienced Lexie’s unique perspective, as an international student of psychology. She made us aware of the impact of a different cultural and governmental system on mental health issues.

Putting down roots in Hungary will make Lexie even more of a citizen of the world, as she expands her exposure to yet another area of the planet - Europe!