On Tuesday, Nov. 27, Lake Central reported the news of Jonathan Guzman’s (10) death and Daniel Guzman’s (11) injuries. This situation meant a lot for the Science Olympiad team, especially with an upcoming competition that weekend.
“Whiting is aware of what’s happening; they will recognize Lake Central as a club for coming and give a moment of silence before the competition begins,” Mrs. Mary Joan Martin, Science said.
The group continued to stay strong with the Guzman brothers in their thoughts.
“The weekend will be tough. We know we might not win, but the spirit of this isn’t about winning, it’s just about competing,” Martin said.
Many students have signed up to attend the competition. Two alumni students, Charles Sayger (‘12) and Jacob Kozel (‘12), from Valparaiso and Purdue University respectively, volunteered to go as extra coaches. As one whole team, they coped with the loss but all of the kids dealt with the situation differently.
“The last moment with Jon was when we were all on the floor working and laughing together on the car, and what hurts the most is that me and Mrs. Martin were the very last ones to see them, “ Marcus Cymerman (11) said.
Jonathan Guzman was a student that Science Olympiad and others will always remember. The team will try to put all of their hard work and dedication into the Whiting competition to show their appreciation for him.
“He constantly said ‘You only live once,’ and all he wanted was someone to know what he lived for. I chose to teach, because there’s just those certain kids, they may be the biggest goof-ball, but they touch your heart, “ Martin said.
