I moved from Brazil to the United States in January 2008, a Portuguese speaker, without knowing any English. During my freshman and sophomore years I never had the chance to interact with people from other cultures, because I was placed in Portuguese bilingual classes, where I was not challenged academically and yearned for the chance to relate to students from other backgrounds. Luckily for me, I had an incredibly thoughtful teacher and coach, Mr. DeOliveira, who helped me to move from bilingual to honor classes. Besides facilitating a move that changed my academic future, Mr. DeOliveira also inspired me to persevere.
It was the summer before my junior year in 2009. We were practicing volleyball in the blistery heat of the gym before the season started. “Barbara, Karla, and Lisandra”, coach yelled in an ordinary manner. Hearing my name, I rushed over to his side. When we were all gathered I looked into his eyes and saw tears building up. I knew something was wrong. I heard the most dreadful words, “Girls, the tumor in my brain has come back.” I did not know what to do and my heart just broke. I was devastated and finishing practice was almost impossible. It is terrible when somebody that you care about is withering down to nothing.
From then on I was in awe of my coach. Even though chemotherapy was weakening him, he moved through the hallways cautiously with a smile on his face. When I think about him, I think of a hero or superman. He is a normal person with an extraordinary heart and a strong heart is a power like no other. I was inspired by Mr. DeOliveira’s determination to live and come to school everyday with a positive attitude. As a team we learned how abruptly life can end, and realized that life is too precious to waste.
Seeing Coach’s will to live gave me the inspiration to be a person who is able and willing to take the lead, guide others and give my all in everything I do. For example I have acted as a role model for my volleyball team. We...