In times of tragedy...

...a community is defined.

This post has been a long time coming. And in truth, the biggest reason that I had yet to post up until now is that I just didn't know how to show the proper respect. Over the last month, the community at ACS has shown the strength and resolve in each other to help me find the words.

It is not uncommon for a school to lose a student. Tragically, too many students never get to see what the world has in store for them because their light is extinguished too soon. Teaching at my last job in Hayward, where the threat of violence was always present, I was always concerned with which students might not make it until the end of the year. I would hear stories about students who used to attend LPS, but for one reason or another left us, made bad choices, were caught at the wrong place at the wrong time, were mistaken for a gang member, and lost their lives to senseless violence. It seems even in Bulgaria, that relationship between student and teacher is no more diminished than if I were anywhere else on the planet.

I didn't know Bobby, but from his teachers and his peers, I hear he was a good kid. He was not the top of his class, and he was even a bit of a clown, but he was someone who liked to make others smile. He liked to have fun, and his charisma was infectious. On the very first day of school of his junior year, Bobby and another student were in a car accident on the way to the campus. The other student was lucky enough to walk away from the accident with some relatively minor injuries, but Bobby wasn't so lucky. He was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries, and was in a coma. Few people knew at the time, and the first-day's festivities went on with fanfare and celebration. The excitement was palpable, not just for us new international teachers, but for so many students who were happy to be back, seeing their friends, excited about moving forward in their academic careers. It wasn't until later that we learned about the accident. For the next two weeks Bobby fought for his life, however, the injuries were just too extreme. 13 days after the accident, Bobby left this world, and ACS.

I didn't know Bobby. And, truthfully, at that point, I didn't even know my students. I didn't know how they would react, how much he meant to them, how they would respond. The death of an esteemed one can devastate a community; and Bobby's loss was certainly devastating.

It has been about a month now, and things are "normal". Classes are held, seniors are worried about college, preps (8th graders) are worried about adjusting to high school, boys are worried about girls; but passing in the halls, or holding class with my 11th graders, Bobby's presence is still felt. Some students have a different perspective on their lives, and many still talk of him and miss him. But perhaps the most powerful thing for me has been the community. These students and teachers came together for each other. They hugged each other, cried on each other, and still push each other to find the future for themselves they know their friend will not get a chance to find. I could not be more proud of them. I could not be more proud of the maturity and dignity in which they choose to handle the situation. And it's noticed by many. A student writer for the school newspaper approached Amanda about doing a story about the accident and the aftermath. His angle - the community of support for those left behind; the ACS-family that loved Bobby, and how they will continue to celebrate him.

I didn't know Bobby, but in many ways I actually do. Being a teacher means intertwining your life with others at a very precarious time. I feel blessed to have been a teacher at two great schools. Schools that have been full of students that show me everyday what strength is, what courage is, what life is.

Rest in peace, Bobby. I hope you know how many lives you've touched. And that includes mine.



Nazdrave.