Thursday, October 30, 2014

WMHS wears pink in memory of a beloved faculty member


by Emily Gill
Woburn Memorial High School recently lost a beloved member of our community, long time English teacher Patricia Stewart. Students and staff alike remember Stewart as a kind, warmhearted woman who dedicated her life to teaching. When Stewart passed away, several members of the WMHS community wanted to do something to remember her by. Student Council took charge and organized a “Day of Pink” in. Stewart’s honor. On Wednesday October 29, WMHS students and faculty members were encouraged to wear pink and make donations for a charity in Stewart’s name.
It was truly inspiring how many people decided to take part in the event. The halls of WMHS were filled to the brim with pink shirts, pants, ribbons and even a few creative costumes. Times like these show how united our school can be. Tanner Pride doesn’t just mean attending football games or cheering at the pep rally. At the end of the day, what it really means is standing together and supporting each other.
Many students wore pink on Wednesday for their own personal reasons. It was sobering just how many lives at WMHS have been affected by breast cancer. Several students have had family members suffer from the terrible disease. Woburn High senior Chris Torres is one of these people.
“My aunt died from breast cancer. My family donates money very year. We want to make a difference. It’s a really important cause to me,” Torres explained.
Fortunately, not every student had to wear pink in memory of their lost loved ones. Some got to sport pink attire in honor of their relative’s courageous fight and victory over breast cancer. Senior Maggie Kenney shared her reasons for supporting the Day of Pink.
“My grandmother had breast cancer. She survived it, and I wear pink today to honor her strength,” stated Kenney.
Other students had no personal reason to support the Day of Pink, but chose to anyways. It just goes to show that you don’t need to be personally affected by a terrible tragedy to want to help stop it. Senior Mike Srajer stated his reasons behind wearing pink.
“Even though I’m a guy, I wore pink today because I’m not ashamed to support a good cause,” explained Srajer.
The Day of Pink turned out to be a huge success. Close to $900 was raised in honor of Stewart and other members of the WMHS community who have battled breast cancer. Student Council treasurer Whitney Hyland wanted to give her thanks for everyone’s hard work.
“We organized ‘The Day of Pink’ to support breast cancer awareness and remember Ms. Stewart. [Some of] the money raised is going to the hospice service that took care if Ms. Stewart before she passed away. We really appreciate everyone’s participation,” Hyland stated.
Student Council will vote on how the money will be divided between charities.
When we get our heart set on a cause, there’s not stopping the WMHS community from doing what we know is right. 

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