All good things in life must come to an end. On October 22, we bid farewell to Mrs. Melissa Morales as she resigned her position as one of SCHS' assistant principals to start a new chapter in her life. For six years, Mrs. Morales has been with us as a teacher, a math coach, and the role she just departed from. Even for her, making these changes can not only be exciting, but sometimes terrifying as well.

Mrs. Morales first started at SCHS as an algebra one teacher and expressed her love towards her students through math. "My biggest thing was, I love the kids who hated math, because I told them, you will no longer hate math. You have to at least semi like it. If not, I’m not going to like you back," Morales added satirically. To her, getting students' mindset to change were some of her best moments in being a teacher. She enjoyed watching the kids slowly understand that they can accomplish things they never thought they could.

Eventually, Mrs. Morales transitioned from being a teacher to an assistant principal, one of the biggest changes in her life. It was nerve wracking for her at first, since having a role like that is extremely difficult. "It was challenging really," Morales started. "I think every day it still is [challenging] because you kind of are always learning something new. I don’t think anything ever works out exactly the way you think it’s going to. But I can’t do my job without my team. So, I work with great people, which has made being an assistant principal a little bit easier."

To her, being surrounded by those who she formed relationships with always filled her heart with joy. Having that connection where the team could hold each other up and come up with solutions for the kids always made her day every single time, which helped make her such a great support for both students and teachers.  

But even after all the good times, things must come to an end. A new chapter is always something good for life. It’s how humans grow, even if it’ is scary at first. "I feel upset that I’m leaving. I do," Morales said as she wiped tears away. "I don’t want to cry. I’ve been here for a long time. I love kids and I love the school. It’s okay. But you know, change is good. Change is good for everybody. And I am going back into the classroom. So, it’ll be fun to kind of take a step back."

If there’s one thing I learned when interviewing her, is that change is always going to be something that you are hesitant about at first. And you know what? That’s okay. It is going to happen often in life. But all you have to remember is that you have people around you that are there for you. They will support you in every step of the way, no matter what.

We will miss you Mrs. Morales. Thank you for making us strong Bulldogs. Good luck in the future!