Hiba Hussein was a down to earth, authentic, social butterfly that unfortunately was not in the South High family for long: ”From what I’ve heard of her, is that she was always so happy to be here at school and that she considered her teachers and peers part of her family, and that she always had a big smile on her face” said Down Nesja, a South Special Ed staff who was acquainted with Hussein, but didn’t work with her.

Hussein came to South for about a week before she had to take a year off due to medical issues, but every day she wanted to be there. She faced challenges with open arms and a smile and even the last few days before she passed, she was calling in to see if there was any work that needed to be done. When asked if Hussein was more social or kept to herself, Meg Hest, a teacher who worked with Hussein, said: “It was a little challenging to get places sometimes, she wanted to talk to every person she saw!”

Hest continued: “There was a moment when her and I were coming out of her math class, and we always had to leave a little early because it took awhile for us, but we ended up being late to lunch, because she wanted to talk to every person in the hallway.”

She loved every single one of her classes but she enjoyed her math class the most. She was an incredibly hard worker and loved an academic challenge. Being around her peers made her the happiest.

Later speaking with Greg Smith, another teacher who worked with Hussein, he shared a fond memory: “Her first time going to the math center she got a celebration for being the 500th student to visit, and believe me she wanted to go back every day after that!”

Every person that was spoken with had nothing but smiles and the occasional giggle. Hussein touched every person she met, even strangers. She wanted to know how you were doing as a person: she wanted to get to know everyone.

In a conversation with Hussein she would be invested in you and your well being rather than herself. When asked how she was doing, she would simply reply with “Fine”.

Hussein was an incredible girl that brought a smile to everyone’s face and the South High school family will miss her every day.

ELL teacher Elizabeth Carey who worked with Hussein created a GoFundMe in support of Hussein’s family which can be accessed here: https://www.gofundme.com/rememberinghiba