School, Community, Come Together to Honor Student Lost Too Soon

School, Community, Come Together to Honor Student Lost Too Soon

We are all familiar with the cliché phrase that your life can change in the blink of an eye. For some, those words may never hold a significant meaning in their life. For those who knew Mario Arroyo, those ten words may be replaying in their heads for quite some time.

Mario E. Arroyo Jr. passed away last Sunday night after a car accident on U.S. 231. He was one of four passengers, the rest of which survived.

“It’s unreal to think something like this could happen to someone who was such a huge impact on the students at Valparaiso High School and at his old school in Hammond. We will forever remember him as a hero. He may be gone, but he will never be forgotten,” said Malerie Mech, friend and classmate of Mario.

The 18-year-old transferred from Hammond Academy to Valparaiso High School last year, leaving positive impacts at both schools.

“Mario was the type of student who made students around him feel better about themselves,” said Ryan Labis, Mario’s history teacher. “He was the type of kid who was always appreciative. He was kind to everyone and always had a smile on his face.”

“He always pushed me to do better and go down the right path,” said Gordy Santiago, friend of Mario and fellow Valparaiso High School Student. “He was someone who made everyone happy and made everyone around him smile.”

To honor Mario, students left notes and messages on and around his locker. Team LEAD, a VHS club dedicated to leading middle school students on a path of positivity and open mindedness, also decided to help put together a memorial service that took place this Sunday.

“LEAD got involved after speaking with Mario’s family. We really wanted to focus on Mario and how we could help and assist his family by showing love and compassion,” explained Denise Koebcke, Team LEAD sponsor.

“We may be a huge school, but we’re a family. There may be 2,000 of us, but we lost one of our own. As a whole community, we wanted to support this family and shine the light on them,” Koebcke continued.

Students were invited to attend the memorial service clad in baseball attire. “Mario’s dad said he absolutely loved baseball. In fact, a lot of people were saying he might play baseball in the future,” said Koebcke.

The memorial service was held on the Valparaiso High School baseball field, where students were able to talk express all they loved about Mario. Mario’s father was also presented with Mario’s locker door that students had written messages on.

Terri Crowe, Mario’s friend and former Hammond classmate, said, “Standing on the baseball field for his service was a weird feeling. It felt like we were all just here for another one of his games. It means the world to see everyone come together in his honor.”

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