Bloomington High School South, The Gothic, 2009, Page 197

Description:	Remembering Ms. Elena VeachSome teachers allowed us to handin late or incomplete work. Some letus scrape by with less than what wecould really do. Then we took Ms.Elena Veachs class, or joined one ofher activities, and we were in for awake-up call—or a call to step it upas Ms. Veach would say. Doing ourbest in her class was mandatory, andstandards were high. Students in herhonors-level courses werent allowedto forget honors-level expectations andat some point many of us feared shewas overestimating us. However, thereward of living up to her standardswas undeniable. When I was in herclass, she would say that its good if youget an A, but you could have gotten anA+. You can apply that anywhere, notjust to school, senior Emily May, astudent of Ms. Veachs English 10-HDclass, said.Reaching her standards made everysecond of memorizing poems or doingsoccer drills in the scorching sun worthwhile. She did not challenge us simplyto see how far we would go until wewould crack; instead she wanted toprove to us that we were all going places, and she pushed us to realize that.Ms. Veach wouldnt settle for anythingless than what we could truly do, andshe wouldnt let us settle either. Shewas always the encouraging funny onethat wanted us to work hard but madesure we also loved the game, seniorCasey Allbright said. Ms. Veachcoached Allbright her freshman year.Tragedy struck on August 16, 2008when Ms. Veach died of primary pulmonary hypertension at the Universityof Chicago Hospital. The next Monday, there was a tangible fog of sorrow,sympathy and shock in the corridorsof Bloomington South. No student orteacher really knew what we would dowithout the fire of her spirit to warmours. When it hit me I wasnt the samefor a while. I just kept thinking, Whydid this happen to her? Allbrightsaid. If there was one word to describewhat we all felt, it would have beendevastated.That Friday, school essentially shutdown so that everyone who wishedcould attend the memorial service atthe First United Methodist Church,where Ms. Veach was a member.Seats were scarce, though tears werenot, especially as her husband, andformer South assistant principal, Mr.Alan Veach entered the sanctuary andjoined so many who loved her.When I came to school and foundout it was true, I was shocked. I wasreally sad for her family, especially herkids, I was worried about her son,May said. Ms. Veachs survivors included son Lane, who was born shortlybefore her death, and daughter Hallie.As her close friends, family, and colleagues gave their eulogies, a recurringtheme came up: her strict step uppolicy for herself and others. There wasan unspoken consensus that the policywould still be in effect even though shewas physically gone. I thought shewas awesome. You couldnt just breezethrough her class like a lot of otherclasses, but it was still fun, May said.She was tough on students; howevershe held this quality because she caredso much about them, and held them insuch a high regard. You never reallyfind a teacher that shows how muchshe cared. The day they banned theConfederate Flag [in 2006], she wantedeveryone to know what was going on,and that everyone was okay, seniorAmber Long said.She also got to know her studentspersonally, and made it clear that whileshe was their teacher and an author-When we did our thing overRomeo and Juliet she wouldalways say how immature theywere. She would say Romeowas on the rebound and wassad and saw Julietand immediately wantedto get together.—sophomore Nicholas BushIll never forget the manytimes and laughs that weshared together—dinners,basketball games, chaperoning dances, vacations, doggie play-dates, shopping trips,painting and then repaintingour houses, starting our careers,and watching her start herfamily. These times were andwill always be special memories for me. The time we spenttogether was full of laughterand love; and I will alwayscherish it.—Ms. Kara Parkerity figure, she was also a mother, andcould relate to us. She always told usstories. When she was pregnant shetold us she wanted to get a VW Bug,and not sell out and get a mini-van,May said.Ms. Sheila McDermott-Sipe, Ms.Veachs colleague in the English department, further emphasized Ms. Veachssignature traits to her Advanced Placement Literature and Composition class.The news of Ms. Veachs passing wasannounced to the school the day theclass was scheduled to take the summer reading test. Ms. McDermott-Sipe told the class she understood ifthey needed to postpone the test andinstead take the day to grieve. Somestudents took the test, but some choseto use the time to write something else:memories of Ms. Veach, her impact onSouth, and her impact on her studentsall addressed to Ms. Veachs children.The next day Ms. McDermott-Sipe remarked on the way the dismissal of thetest would have appalled Ms. Veach, Iknow that if Mrs. Veach were here shewould have told us all that it would beokay to be sad, but you still need to doyour work. In other words, step it up,South. -MARGARET MCGILLIVRAYFar Left: SeniorRosalyn Sternberg isawarded the ElenaGraves Veach Awardat senior honor night.Sternberg was selectedby the English teachers as a superiorEnglish student, photoBY RAN CAOLeft: Mr. Alan Veachaccepts The Bloomington Chamber ofCommerce Teacher ofthe Year Award presented posthumouslyto Ms. Veach. photoBY DYLAN PASSWAITERremembering ms. elena veach \| ALBUM [ 197
Source:	http://cdm17129.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/hs-bloomsouth/id/8219
Collection:	Bloomington High School South

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