In her more than 20 years of teaching, Tamara Whitney left a lasting impact on several students, including Emmanuel Barrera.
"You know, she taught me that anything is possible," Barrera said.
But Emmanuel, or Manny, also explained Ms. Whitney was more than just his teacher at Mission Middle School.
"My independence was that I didn't know I had independence until she went and she fought for me," he said.
That advocacy led to Emmanuel finding his voice, and he expressed it through journalism. Back in 2016, he was a young man exposed to the world of production and storytelling in the Mission Television class with Ms. Whitney.
Fast forward to now, he's a college graduate with a BA in Journalism and Public Relations.
Manny is just one of the many students Ms. Whitney has helped encourage and empower over the last two decades and beyond to chase their dreams well into college.
"You know people have felt an impact because she's done a lot, not just for her students, but [also] for the community in it," Manny said.
One unique part of Ms. Whitney's character was her drive to help others, even when she started a tough battle of her own.
"So I was in 7th grade when my mom got diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer, a triple negative, which means it wasn't really passed down," her son, Jacob Whitney, explained. "It got to a point where the doctors were like, 'There's nothing more we can do, honestly just live the rest of your life with your loved ones' -- which was truly hard to hear."
In 2019, she was diagnosed and still taught as long as she could through her treatments. However, after she stopped teaching due to her health, she continued to serve as a light for young, aspiring students to get into a number of college programs at universities across the nation.
Over the years, Jacob says his mother's efforts to consistently give back is what inspires him every day.
"I just am so grateful that I got to grow up with an amazing role model like my mom, and I hope that I can do the same," says Jacob, who is now senior faced with the tough decision of which college to attend in the fall.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help the Whitney family during this time, for the woman who helped so many before.
"She's had so many students just this past week alone that have come back and I was like 'Darn... I didn't even have a teacher that I knew that close,' but honestly, just if you imagine a colorful ball radiating of sunshine, that's who my mom is," he said.
