By Lori Ayotte — Advisor, The Talon

He’s kind, positive, and funny — and his friends, classmates, and teachers miss him so much.

Ryan Tran, a freshman at SHS, has been out of school since December while he continues his fight against leukemia.

To know Ryan is to love him, say his friends and his teachers. Today, hundreds of people at the high school dressed in orange — the cancer-awareness color for leukemia — and donned special ribbons to show their support.

Classmate Felix Wang, proudly wearing an orange ribbon, described Ryan as “a great friend” and “a great person.”

“We are all here for him,” Felix added. “All his friends and family are rooting for him.”

“We really miss Ryan,” said Ms. Jen Feldman, who is Ryan’s history teacher. She, like many other staff members, wore an orange long sleeve shirt to show him her support.

“When he was with us in class, he always had such a positive attitude, and it was evident that he enjoyed being with his friends and classmates,” Ms. Feldman added. “He has a great sense of humor that would add to whatever we were doing as a class or in small groups. It’s clear that he’s a kind and inclusive person who puts others at ease and makes them smile.”

Some students in Ryan’s English class described his cancer diagnosis as “unfortunate” and “unexpected.” They’ve been texting him frequently to keep in touch. Many students in this class also made “get well” cards for him (pictured below).

Tyson Dussault was one of several students who talked about how much they love Ryan’s “unique” sense of humor.

“I am really good friends with him,” said Tyson, who is in almost all of the same classes as Ryan. “He is really funny. We had a lot of fun together, especially in math.”

Ribbons were available in front of the cafeteria in the morning, and they also will be available at lunchtime.

For classmate Tahiya Sorker, wearing an orange ribbon was a tangible way to show Ryan friendship and solidarity. She described Ryan as “one of those people that anyone can get along with.”

Tahiya added that “since we all can’t be there with him, these little things [like wearing orange] are important to support him.”