“In October we wear pink.” That’s one of the many mottos people have in order to bring awareness to Breast Cancer. At South El Monte High School, bringing awareness is essential to students and faculty because it has affected the community. In 2007, after twelve years of battling breast cancer, Mr. Escamilla’s younger sister Liz San Roman passed away. Mr. Escamilla shared that he was greatly saddened by the loss of his sister, however one thing he was sure of was that he wanted to keep the memory of her alive. After her passing, Mr. Escamilla and his family decided to create a scholarship called “The Liz San Roman Scholarship.” This scholarship would help South El Monte High School students pursue a higher level of education. Mr. Escamilla shared that his sister believed in higher education, hence why the idea of creating a scholarship came about. In order to raise money for the scholarship, AVID students paired up with ASB to participate in selling Pink Day Shirts. This year around 11,000 shirts were sold, which means that approximately $6,000 was raised for this year’s scholarship. Students who sold high numbers of shirts were rewarded with gift cards. A $50 dollar gift card to Starbucks was given to Abraham Varela (‘23) who sold 80 pink ribbon shirts.

The Liz San Roman scholarship accompanied by the Pink Day Game has been occurring for 15 years. In preparation for the Pink Day Game this year, the ASB students were hard at work from arriving at 5 in the morning to leaving at 11 at night. Some of the posters that the ASB students decorated the school with had phrases such as “You are not alone,” and “We love you.” As each year passes the spirit towards Pink Day keeps growing, and Mr. Escamilla shared, “It touches my heart.” In addition, he stated, “I would like to thank everyone who decorated and helped, I get too much credit.” Over the years, the recipients of the Liz San Roman scholarship have included students who have attended UCLA or other 4-year universities. The scholarship consists of writing a response to the following prompt, “How has cancer affected you?” The winner of the scholarship tends to be announced in March. The recipients of the scholarship are chosen by Mr. Escamilla and his daughters. Mr. Escamilla is happy and grateful that he can still keep his sister’s memory alive. 

In this year’s Pink Game, ASB organized a Teacher and Staff Appreciation Night. Staff and Teachers were served tacos, and were allowed to bring their family members along too. During half-time, the teacher of the month was announced. This year’s teacher of the month was math teacher Mr. Lopez. During that moment of appreciation, students and teachers cheered from the stands. Afterward, Mr. Castillo called everyone to take a group picture to thank everyone for their hard work. This pink day game will remain in everyone’s book of memories for year’s to come. For more information on breast cancer awareness visit the National Breast Cancer Foundation or the Centers for Disease Control