Natalie Masachi, Staff Reporter
Devastation among students and staff here on campus occurred when current teacher Lilia Morales was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Although this is an upsetting time as a community, Morales’s students at Rancho Cucamonga High School showed the utmost amount of support during her last few days here on campus before her long-awaited surgery.
Lilia Morales is a Spanish teacher here on campus, and anyone who was able to be in her class knows the impact she made. Even on her last days on campus, she possessed a contagious smile amidst the hundreds of students who came to give their positive wishes.
Señora Morales is not simply a regular teacher; she always supported her students and was a source of motivation in difficult times. She truly made students feel they could accomplish anything they set their minds to.
Senior Lizbeth Carillo described her experience having Morales as a teacher, “Señora Morales is an amazing teacher and an even better person. She genuinely cares about her students – not only if they are doing well in school, but also if they are doing fine emotionally. She relates every story and every lesson done in Spanish class to our lives. The minute you walk into her class, be prepared to get a life lesson and leave her class better than the way you came in.”
Former student and senior Sarai Yadira Mejia shared a life lesson that Señora Morales taught her that she will never forget, “‘La vida es cruel y difícil!’ (Life is cruel and difficult) is what she would say every day without a doubt. When she told me this after she told me she had cancer she said ‘OMG, life really is cruel and difficult!’ but in Spanish of course. These few words taught me that no matter what curveballs life throws at you that you have the capability to persevere and survive. You are in control of your life and can choose whether or not you are gonna let one day knock you down.”
Señora Morales not only displayed her strength during her recovery process, but also every day on campus. She influenced all of her students to stay strong through any rough times they were going through.
Carillo expressed a message for Morales that many students share, “She has had our backs all this time and now it is our turn to have hers. We have to stay strong together, and she is going to rise above and come out stronger than ever before. She is loved and admired here at the school and we cannot wait for her to come back. Her former and current students still have a special spot in their hearts for her.”
We all love her and wish her the best in her road to recovery, Equipo Morales Para Siempre!
The Cat's Eye 