Senior Jenny Son was having an unusually good Friday morning Nov. 16. All she could think about was her first shift at The Buckle. She flew through the first three periods of the school day as usual, until fourth period Economics when she got a visit from Assistant Principal Holly Ripley.
“Mrs. Ripley came in and got me, and that’s when I got nervous,” Son said. “Who likes being taken out by the principal?”
Ripley informed Son her house had burned down at 9:30 that morning.
“All I did was cry and just kept thinking of how I didn’t have a home anymore,” Son said.
Nikki Peterson, an aerobic dance teacher wanted to help the Son family because Jenny was one of her students. She, along with fellow Physical Education teacher Chelsea Hendricks, and other instructors from the Philanthropy and Youth Group, held a Zumbathon event to raise money for the family on Nov. 28.
“The most difficult thing was finding a place and time [for the event] because there are so many activities going on at West Fargo High School,” Peterson said.
The event attracted around 70 students and raised $624 for the Son family.
“I thought it was a really cool and fun way to get people together to show support for a student and her family that are in need,” junior Kenna Jo Sand said.
Sand was happy to attend the event and hopes to attend another. Son was also very gracious for the event.
“I think more than anything it really showed us that there is actually people that care,” Son said. “You always hear the stories about people who receive great help from strangers and you never really see the impact it creates until you are the one receiving it.”
The fire started from an electrical outage, and only certain parts of the house had fire damage. The Sons now reside in a new apartment. Due to a few teachers who put on an event and tried to get everyone together, the Son family is inching closer to rebuilding their house, and also learning a lesson in compassion at the same time.
“In our case it was the help of Mrs. Peterson, Ms. Hendricks, and Mrs. Hersch that showed us who and what a good person is,” Son said.