5K will benefit high school teacher
In her first year teaching English at Longmont High School, Maddie Angelino believes she has found her dream job. The 25-year-old New England native embraced working with ninthand 11th-graders starting this fall, after first spending a year at the high school as a student teacher.
“I couldn’t imagine doing a different job,” Angelino said. “I immediately fell in love with the community — not just the school but Longmont as a whole and how connected the school is to the community. So when a position opened up, I knew this is where I wanted to be.”
This school year, however, also brought Angelino an unexpected challenge: a battle with breast cancer. But, like everything else in her life, she is approaching it with a smile.
“There are hard days, for sure,” she said. “There are days when honestly, I look in the mirror and I don’t see the same person that I saw. But what hasn’t changed is my personality, and that’s kind of what I come back to. I am not going to let this stop me from doing what I have to do. I’m not someone who’s going to quit or get defeated.”
That relentless optimism has made Angelino this year’s “Happy Smackah,” the beneficiary of the annual 5K fun run. Set for May 11, the race will kick off at 8 a.m. with the option to either run or walk the course around Mcintosh Lake in Longmont.
Every year, the Happy Smackah is a student or faculty member within the St. Vrain Valley School District who is working through an illness or injury. Angelino was nominated for the position by several community members, and she’ll receive the funds raised through the 5K’s registration fees, sponsorships and donations.
Angelino initially received her breast cancer diagnosis last summer. Since then, she has gone through a string of tests and treatments, including chemotherapy. As of Wednesday, Angelino has nine sessions left in what she hopes is her final round of once-a-week chemo treatments.
The money raised from the run will help cover the cost of freezing and storing Angelino’s eggs, because she and her fiancé hope to have children.
“It’s probably going to be about five years before I’m able to have a kid,” Angelino said. “Keeping those eggs frozen for five years is super expensive. I was going to do it either way, but this is such a weight off my shoulders. Like, ‘Wow, this really is feasible.’”
Despite her medical schedule,
Angelino is enjoying a successful first year of teaching; she said her favorite part has been the opportunities to bond with her students. She called the support from her fellow Longmont High teachers incredible, and said her students have done a great job staying focused in the classroom even though she can’t be there all of the time.
“My students, they’re just so gracious with me and understanding that I can’t be here every Friday right now,” Angelino said. “I had so many things I wanted to do this year and so many goals, and I’ve definitely had to manage my expectations of what I can accomplish. There’s a lot that I’m looking forward to in the future.”
Angelino plans to attend the 5K in May along with several friends and family members. Karen Clancy-cribby, who has helped put on the 5K since 2011, characterized a “happy smackah” as someone who is joyous, is hardworking and doesn’t complain. Angelino stood out as a nominee with her young age and desire to excel as a teacher despite her circumstances.
“I can’t imagine being a firstyear teacher and going through all that,” Clancy-cribby said. “She’s still being her best self.”
Clancy-cribby said she has been humbled by how long the fundraiser has been held in Longmont and the chance the Happy Smackah team gets each year to support people in need.
“This is a really easy way to help somebody,” Clancy-cribby said of the run. “It’s taking tragedy and turning it into a beautiful thing.”
To register for the 5K, visit happysmackah.com.