Every year, several teachers choose seniors to be nominated for the Athens Oracle’s Senior Spotlight. Janet MacDonald, ESL teacher, nominated Breysi Rodriguez Gomez, whom she describes as kind. Though this word may just be a simple description, it is much more than that.
“I think she sets a very good example to students. She is never unkind, she doesn’t talk about other people, she’s extremely helpful, and is just a very mature, and care-giving kind of person,” said MacDonald.
This kind of empathy forms Rodriguez Gomez’s personality. Her leadership doesn’t require a loud voice, but her reliability and kindness easily shine through. For MacDonald, observing these things about Rodriguez Gomez was one of the reasons she was nominated.
“Breysi stands out from other students because of her maturity, her kindness, [and] her ability to focus on what needs to be done and getting it done. It’s also how she is constantly taking care of other people; she just looks out for them. Anything they need, she takes care of,” said MacDonald.
Her steady focus became one of her biggest strengths when facing obstacles–even in an unfamiliar environment. Coming to a new country brings numerous challenges, but Rodriguez Gomez faced all of them, starting from the bottom up.
“I’m from Honduras, and I came over here in 2023…so, I had to learn English, and it was very hard,” said Rodriguez Gomez.
One of Rodriguez Gomez’s biggest challenges she had to overcome at Athens was learning English. She didn’t speak any English, so Rodriguez Gomez was starting fresh.
“Thinking back to four years ago when she was in 9th grade, she was in class with me and we were just beginning to learn English because when she first came here she didn’t speak any English. And yet, she still worked all the extra hour and worked really hard,” said MacDonald.
Having completely new surroundings and learning a new language can be very overwhelming and hard to keep grades up. But even so, Rodriguez Gomez persevered through all of the ups and downs. She kept her grades high and worked herself to the bone, not letting the obstacles get in her way. Yet, her motivation went far beyond just her academic success.
“I’m the oldest child at home; I have to help out my little brothers, my mom, [and] my dad. I used to work a job to help my family with money last semester,” said Rodriguez Gomez.
Juggling the expectations of high school is a difficult task for any student, but working late-night shifts and household duties is an extra step on top of that. Many students head home and relax after the school bell rings, but Rodriguez Gomez would have just begun her shift or was attending to her household responsibilities.
“She has a lot of responsibilities outside of school. And that’s where she shines. She really does a lot for her family; she’s had different jobs and helps out her family a lot,” said MacDonald.
In short, Rodriguez Gomez’s journey at Athens Drive shows her resilience. She successfully learned a whole new language while maintaining her grades, being a caretaker and shouldering a job while always having kindness for her family or others.
“I’ve known her for four years, so I first met her when she first came to the United States…since she came to Athens Drive, there has been so much growth, she works so hard, and is doing great in all her classes. She is very kind, has a wonderful sense of humor and is a very helpful person, she really looks out for the people around her,” said MacDonald.
