(Seguin) — Clara Vega’s job in the school cafeteria at Jefferson Avenue Elementary was more than just making sure lunch was served. It was about making connections with students and letting them know that each of them mattered.
On Friday, Vega’s legacy was memorialized thanks to her granddaughter Michelle de Leon who made sure to honor those positive contributions made on campus so many decades ago with the dedication of a stone bench in front of the school campus.
De Leon says seeing her mom interact with kids everyday is what she will always best remember and is grateful to have partnered with the school now as a community member.
“We wanted to do something special and pay a tribute to her and when I was going to school here at Jefferson, whenever I would see a kid that didn’t have a lunch, I would let her know.
So, she would take care of them, and she told me that if anyone was ever shy and couldn’t speak up for themselves to just let her know and she would take care of their lunch and would make sure everyone had a meal. So, I got with the school and tried to make a donation so that nobody would have to go without, and we discovered that there was already a program in place to take care of all the Seguin ISD students. So, I got with the principal, and he asked if we wanted to do a bench,” said de Leon.
According to her granddaughter, Vega served the campus in the late 70s to early 90s. de Leon says her grandmother was a true woman of faith and compassion.
“She was so selfless. She didn’t want any big to do. She would be very honored that we were doing this for her. She was passionate about serving others. Like Snow White, the animals would just come up to her, so I think of that because she was so loving, and everybody felt some welcome around her. She made everybody feel at ease and loved,” said de Leon.
In fact, de Leon’s 10-year tribute to Vega has since evolved into even more support for the local campus.
“We decided to adopt Jefferson and we already have some things in place just to kind of thank the teachers, the administration, maintenance, cafeteria workers, everybody who contributes and goes above and beyond for these kids. Sometimes in secret they just do good things that we don’t know of and so I just wanted to do something special for them especially during the holidays because we’ve got to spread that love in Seguin,” said de Leon.
De Leon says she encourages others to also take time to see how they can support a local campus. She adds that adopting a school is made easy through the Seguin Education Foundation.
Those wishing to adopt a school or donate a similar project at a local school are asked to call the SEF at 830-379-0325.
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