by Paul Fraumeni
When he’s asked what he would like to have achieved 40 years from now, Max Le Moine doesn’t hesitate in responding.
“I want to be known for helping people.”
At only age 20, he’s already made an impressive start on that mission.
Max has just finished his first year at Carleton University, where he’s majoring in industrial design. He is honoured to be in the program – only 50 new students are accepted each year – but he’s even prouder that a career in this field will enable him to make life better for others.
“I am passionate about learning how I can make a difference through product design,” he says. “I am extremely excited to become a designer so I can have a positive impact on the world around me, especially for those who have been presented with barriers.”
Max is a big believer in taking action to make the world a more accessible place. In fact, his role now as a student in industrial design is just the latest in a long line of roles he’s played with a variety of organizations.
“It all began in 2018, when I was invited to speak at the Empowered Kids Ontario conference. The session I helped lead was about a group therapy program called Me and My Community (now called Youth in Charge). This gave me the opportunity to educate professionals about the benefits of group therapy. It was an inspiring experience. After that, I found myself really wanting to do more to help the disabled community.”
So, typical of Max, he got busy.
He’s worked and volunteered for his hometown of Aurora, ON as a member of the Accessibility Advisory Committee. Part of that included Max writing accessibility guidelines for the Town of Aurora. And he’s done a huge amount of work with Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital. The Youth in Charge team hired him to take on a leadership role in the group in 2020-21 and he served on the hospital’s Accessibility Planning Advisory Committee.
“I used my experience with Cerebral Palsy to help discuss accessibility around Holland Bloorview. These roles have been great opportunities to grow my leadership skills and knowledge of accessibility.”
And he’s making his mark in his new Ottawa community.
Carleton nominated Max to be on The Ottawa Hospital’s Accessibility Consultative Committee. When the new Ottawa Civic Hospital opens years from now, Max will have had an influence on what is expected to be, in his words, “a revolutionary hospital when it comes to many aspects of design and patient care, including accessibility.”
But Max is quick to point out that he hasn’t achieved all this alone. He’s deeply thankful to his family for their support – parents, Marc and Melody (both of whom are teachers), his sister Amelija and the beloved family dog, a St. Bernadoodle named Luna.
“My parents don’t give me a free pass,” he laughs. “They encourage hard work. And that has really helped me become a responsible adult. But most importantly, they believe in me.”
And that support has rubbed off on Max.
“I’ve worked really hard to get where I am today. I’m very proud of what I’m doing to help others achieve their goals.”