On Friday, April 24th a seventh grader by the name of Angelly Lopez, age 12, tragically passed away while traveling in the Dominican Republic alongside her mother. Angelly was an extraordinary student and athlete, who had a bright future ahead of her. She was deeply loved by family, friends, and teachers. We were all terribly shaken by her passing. Though her time with us was not long, she will always be remembered here at AMS. Out of respect for their grief process, her family was not interviewed for this article.
We interviewed Angelly’s main friend group, Carlenis Nunez, Lailynn Concepcion, Charlotte Espinoza and Luisanny Minier–and another friend–Isaiah Rivera, to find out how the school was supporting them. “They were letting us distract ourselves, talk to Ms. Russi (AP Teresina Russiello), help us talk to the counselors. They were trying to calm us down. I feel like they want us to know that she’s still with us and that it’s okay to cry, because they’re here to support us,” said Charlotte Espinoza. “I feel like they’re very supportive…especially because Ms. Russi and Mrs. Ford were really close to her. We made three posters and one of them is upstairs. It just gives me a reminder she’s here with me all the time,” said Luisanny Minier.
We also spoke to Jessica Sills, who is a social-emotional learning program manager at the Urban Assembly. We asked her what she was doing to help students and teachers and she said, “giving the staff members a space to speak about their feelings, and allowing them to grieve as well, since they had to put the students first and support the students who were grieving.” She is offering her presence for students to come speak to her, though she mentioned that many are still in shock and may not be ready to process their feelings. She also made a grief group where students were invited to share their feelings and great memories that they may have of Angelly. They also used pipe cleaners to create beautiful flowers for her.
We asked Angelly’s friends how they would describe her. Luisanny Minier said, “She was really grounded, funny, really smart. She was stubborn, would never back down. I’ve gotten into arguments with her, she doesn’t back down. She’s very caring. She cares about her friends, and me and her were really close.”
Charlotte Espinoza said, “She had a great personality. Many people loved her here. She was funny. She was a kind girl. Well, sometimes we would fight too, but we would end up making up. She was a really good friend to me.”
“She was very outgoing and competitive,” said Lailynn Concepcion. “She was a very sweet girl, even though people would get her tight. She would always stand on what she said.”
“She would never give up and she was so happy,” said Carlenis Nunez. Isaiah Rivera said, “I’ll always remember her as a very kind person and I will always remember her as like my little sister.”
Assistant Principal Virginia Ford described Angelly as “a go-getter.” “If she didn’t like her grades, she would go after it,” she said.
Principal Teresina Russiello said she will remember Angelly as “one of the most full of life and full of love kids that I have ever met in my 21-year career. She loved to be who she was.” She recalled a memory from when Angelly was in sixth grade and convinced Ms. Russiello to let her and a friend make slime in her office using Elmer’s glue and Tide laundry detergent. “And these kids were in here screaming about activation because the laundry detergent activates the glue and makes it slime. And they made a mess,” she said. “There was glue and Tide laundry detergent everywhere. But there were lots of laughs.”
Everyone we spoke to agrees that Angelly was an incredibly loving person. “She would run up to us and hug us,” said Charlotte. “We were there for her and she would take care of us.”
photo courtesy of Angelly’s family.
