Catholic Women of Faith Conference

March 24, 2012

Leah Darrow

Leah Darrow appeared on the reality TV Show, America’s Next Top Model, Season 3. Suddenly, a life changing moment while modeling made everything different and nothing has been the same since. She has gone from top model to role model. Although raised Catholic, her life was full of confusion, especially in this pop culture we live in. She claims to have had a slow fade to spiritual lethargy for 10 years until a life changing conversion took place.

She is a speaker for Catholic Answers and travels anywhere & everywhere to spread God’s message of authentic love, mercy, conversion, human dignity & modesty. Leah inspires and challenges her audiences to accept the mercy of Christ, embrace true love, and welcome conversion. Leah is currently working towards her Masters in Pastoral Theology, in the IPT program, at Ave Maria University.

Tony Melendez

It was an unforgettable moment when, on September 15, 1987, he played his guitar for Pope John Paul II in Los Angeles. Born without arms, he performed a touching song entitled Never Be The Same. When the Pope approached him from the stage to kiss him in appreciation, it seemed to reflect the sentiments of the entire country.

A thalidomide baby, Tony was born without arms because his mother was prescribed thalidomide a drug used to help calm morning sickness during her pregnancy. He was brought to the Los Angeles area from Nicaragua to be fitted with artificial arms. He wore them until he was ten, when he disposed of them. "I didn't feel comfortable," he explains, "I could use my feet so much more."Never Be the Same was an appropriate song, for those few moments changed Tony Melendez' life and brought his unrestrained abilities as a guitarist into national attention. It seems to be a fitting place for a man who has spent his life putting personal confidence above his handicap.