Our hearts were truly touched the other day when Oscar Ramirez let us know that he mentioned us in the valedictorian address he gave to his school in San Salvador recently.
In his speech, Ramirez told his classmates, among much else, that he appreciated Jackie Majerus and Steve Collins, "editors of a newspaper based in Connecticut which published my articles during these years. They are not here today, but thank you for igniting my passion for journalism."
In his note to us, he said, "You , your family and your newspaper have truly been an inspiration to my life. I only wish you could have been at my graduation ceremony to say it to you in person. Strangely enough , I felt your presence. I guess a part of you and of
The Tattoo became a part of me after joining. I'll never forget."
Really, his words put a lump in our throats.
Never did we imagine that a kid in El Salvador would be thanking us at a high school graduation ceremony there. It says more about
The Tattoo and its far-reaching influence than it does about us, but it's still impossibly delightful that Ramirez honored us at that moment.
We're lucky to have had him as a writer and even more lucky that he became, across all these miles, a friend.
Our official policy: We hate blogs.
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Copyright 2007 by The Tattoo. All rights reserved.
Labels: El Salvador, graduation, Jackie Majerus, journalism, Oscar Ramirez, Steve Collins, teen journalism, The Tattoo
