Monday, June 08, 2009

The Legacy of Sally Hefley

This past weekend was not what I expected. Everything will be okay though. Sally will be missed. She did leave behind quite the legacy. The former students who where there on Saturday proved it.

Agata: Class of 2005: fledgling business woman. Her father was killed in a horrific car crash on Monday and will be taking over the business with her mother. Enrique (her father) was a great guy as well.
Ricardo: transferred to the other HS: All around nice guy...not sure what his plans are. I didn't really talk to him much.
Robert: Class of 2007 Sally's "project". Robert is Sally's house keeper's son. From a lower-income home, Robert did not know any English when he was enrolled in ELA as a 5th grader. Since graduation Robert has since worked in the oil industry at the refineries, and on board oil tankers (he didn't like that job). Because of his mastery of English, his options in Venezuela are many.
Andres: Class of 2007 A double major at University of Miami. Art History and something else. He says Art History is really hard. We were surprised with that major. We never took Andres as a student interested in Art.
Emily: Class of 2005 Dental school, learning to be an orthodontist.
Adam: Class of 2009 (had to finish his senior year at our rival high school since Betty destroyed our old school). Adam attended ELA from Kindergarten to the 11th grade. I was his science teacher from 7th grade to 10th grade. I wasn't his science teacher for his 11th grade because Betty made me an elementary teacher (5th/6th graders). Adam will be returning to his native Argentina and study Electro-Mechanical Engineering! Whoooow! This makes me proud. I would like to think that Miguel Rengifo (ELA's math teacher/mechanical engineer) and myself had some influence on him.
CJ: Class of 200(?). CJ moved back to Houston around 2002 or 2003, but his Venezuelan roots brings him back. Not sure what he's doing now...but Sally was definitely a positive influence on him. Probably saved him from a life of crime.

We (the former staff) have other students attending universities around the world, and of course they couldn't be there.

I was proud of each one of them Saturday. Sally would have been.

****
One last note on this matter: I got word that "Betty" and "Randal" (Betty's husband) were livid this morning, from our triple play. ;-) They have a problem: 1.) it shows how intolerant and how little they are. 2.)Their self-esteem must be near zero.

Ultimate score: Their legacy is zero. They accomplished nothing other than negative. They have not left a positive mark in the local community, the country of Venezuela, or the international education community. I hope to God that they never darken the hallways of an education institution ever again. Good riddance!


1 comment:

smkolcun said...

Sally Hefley was my grandmother...I was just thinking of her and decided to google her name and I landed upon your blog. I'm glad she had such a loyal family there and I'm proud of the legacy she has left. I always missed her so much between her visits to the states that it made every moment with her precious and memorable. I'm also thankful Robert is doing well...I met him and hung out with him the two times I came down to Venezuela. Thanks for your post!!! -Summer