by Jen Hight
online editor

Cal High Spanish teacher Margarita Dickenson lost her long battle with liver cancer on April 7. She was 43.

“She was my best friend,” said Spanish teacher Lilliana Maculus. “I loved her with all my heart.”

Dickenson’s colleagues, students, friends, and family came together to honor her during a memorial service on April 14 at Canyon Creek Memorial.

Many of Dickenson’s students attended and took part in the service. Several students gave speeches in remembrance of her, and seniors Adhitya Mohan and Eduardo Gonzalez sang her favorite song.

Sophomore Jessica Ramsey said playing music was a big honor to Dickenson because of her love of music that she shared with all of her students.

Dickenson taught at Cal High for three years and left a huge impact on all of her students in the short amount of time she knew them.

“It’s been six months since I met her, and everything I’m doing is for her,” said Mohan.

Corti said Dickenson was passionate about teaching her students. As the GATE program representative, she took the time out to meet with each one of them individually along with their parents. Corti said Dickenson’s students were the ones to keep her going through her long battle with cancer.

“She taught to the very end,” said Corti. “That’s really remarkable.”

Senior Stephanie Shaw said Dickenson made her class fun for all the students. Her creative teaching style kept all of her students interested and engaged.

Maculus said Dickenson always took her job as a teacher seriously. Every day she came to Cal she gave her students the best.

Junior Eleanor Adachi said Dickenson always believed in her students and pushed them to be the best in her class.

From Flamenco dancing to sharing music with them to just talking to students about their daily lives, Dickenson made her students her number one priority.

“It was more than the student-teacher relationship, each person was an individual to her,” said Ramsey.

Maculus said one thing that really stood out about Dickenson was her smile.

She had a great sense of humor and was always smiling, said Maculus.

“She said she didn’t want tears,” said Maculus. “She gave us the command to enjoy life.”

Gonzalez said Dickenson taught him how to appreciate everything life has to offer.

“I feel like I need to do something really awesome with my life because if I didn’t, I’d disappoint her,” said Gonzalez.

Even the students who only knew her for a short time said she was a wonderful teacher who truly loved her subject and her students.

“My students make me happy, make me laugh,” Dickenson once said, according to Maculus.

Dickenson brought her students together in the six months she was with them this year.

“She’s the main reason our class is a family now,” said Mohan.