KWED Christmas Angel announces 2024 winner
(Seguin) — Christmas brought an early surprise for 10-year-old Aubree Johnson. Johnson, a fourth grader at Weinert Elementary School, was selected as the winner of the 2024 KWED Christmas Angel Contest.
Johnson was announced as the winner live on the air Thursday morning.
Nominating Johnson for the $500 cash prize was her teacher, Daniel Mendoza. As part of the contest rules, Mendoza joined Aubree and her mother, Lauren Falor, live in the KWED studio so that he could read to them the letter he submitted.
This would be the first time both mother and child would hear these written words.
Mendoza reads,” Dear Christmas Angel, Hello. My name is Daniel, but my students call me Mr. Mendoza. Last year, I met a child named Aubree J. She was an average student with an air of indifference and always tried to stay under the radar in school, but that didn’t last.
As the year progressed, she began to show that she had great academic potential and character. Amongst her peers, I noticed that she was hesitant to really show what she was capable of. I proposed a plan to work on her character and confidence. I believed that carefully cultivating these two attributes would lead to an increase in her academic performance. As suspected, she grew both academically and personally. Her indifference turned to enthusiasm and her bored facial cues turned to excited expressions of joy and interest.”
After sharing more about how Aubree stands out amongst her peers, putting great effort forward, he dived into the challenges that have come her way these past few months.
“This past summer, it was heartbreaking to learn that Aubree was diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma, a rare adolescent cancer that forms in the bones. It formed in the vertebrae of her neck. During her challenge with Ewing Sarcoma, Aubree demonstrated those same attributes I saw hiding in her from the beginning. She is brave and has overcome all fears that come with the procedures and process of this condition that include chemotherapy and radiation. She has also shown great maturity when dealing with the idea that this condition could be fatal. When we first spoke about the challenges ahead regarding her diagnosis, she was upbeat but still realistic about the possibilities. I told her that I believed this struggle was given to her at this time to solidify her spirit. While I have given much time and presence to my good friend Aubree, her parents have refused any donations or offers. I believe this beautiful child should be awarded $500. This gift could help with gas money for weekly visits to the children’s hospital in San Antonio and meals when traveling,” stated Mendoza.
While reading his letter, Aubree couldn’t help but stare at her teacher, smiling brightly and chuckling every time he took a quick glance at her.
When asked if she understood all that was read and all that was going on, Aubree quickly said “yes.”
“I have gone through a lot, and I have upgraded a lot and I’ve been through a lot of things, and I help a lot of people,” responded Aubree.
Mendoza says thanks to his wife, he jumped at the chance to help Aubree and at least try to make these days around the holidays a bit brighter.
“Like I said, I’m very busy. When I can, I get together with Aubree but my wife, Michelle Mendoza, came up to me and said ‘honey, look at this and not to brag but I was a great writer in college and she’s going to laugh at that, and my wife said you’ve got to this and I said sure. I dropped everything at that moment. I went to my office and started typing that night. I shortened it and I told the truth, and I tell my kids always tell the truth. Then I submitted the next day and the reason I did it was because on the phone with Aubree’s mom, she said thank you so much for loving us and thinking about us and
I’m always thinking about Aubree and I always love Aubree but every chance I get to do something for her and for all the kids – if I have that chance, I want to do it because I tell my principal and my kids all the time that I took this job to be here for kids. I want someone to be there for them like somebody was there for me but to me, this job is a mission and if there is a child in need. I want to be there for them,” said Mendoza.
Aubree’s mother, Lauren, was appreciative of his efforts. Lauren says just being nominated is a special gift.
“This was really nice. It totally caught me by surprise when I got that phone call. We were just at radiation and doing our daily hospital stuff and totally threw us for a loop but I’m so grateful. This guy has really gone above and beyond for my girl, and she loves him to pieces probably her favorite teacher ever. This was just a really sweet gesture and that’s really kind that people think about us. We have so much going on. It’s hard for us to even think about other people right now. So, the fact that other people are thinking about us is really nice,” said Falor.
Although it’s been a few rough months, Falor says she is pleased to report that healing is well underway for her daughter.
“We were diagnosed in August. Her primary tumor in her neck was the size of a baseball and if we had waited any longer because it was already going into the spinal canal, if we had waited any longer, it could have been detrimental for her. So, we caught it right on time and the first half of chemotherapy, when we did our second scans, they said that the primary tumor shrunk by at least 50 percent and then the metastasized pieces in her lungs are no longer being picked up in her scans. So, we also started radiation, and we actually end that on the 31st. We go Monday through Friday to San Antonio to do those treatments and we are supposed to be done with chemo at the end of February, so we are very excited, and she is really deserving of all good things, “said Falor.
Thursday’s interaction over the airwaves, of course, caught the magnitude of this great friendship and Aubree’s forever appreciation of her fourth-grade teacher.
“Thank you and thank for thinking about me and for always being there with me and we all love you and this is great,” said Aubree.
Photos and the entire Christmas Angel letter can be found in Friday’s edition of the Seguin Daily News available at SeguinToday.com.
The KWED Christmas Angel again thanks all those who submitted entries in this year’s contest and looks forward to spreading even more Christmas spirit in 2025.
