On Monday, Sept. 14, Utah’s 2027 Teacher of the Year and Moroni Elementary’s sixth grade teacher, Talia Casares, passed away. 

         “Señora Casares was a very cheerful and delighted person,” third grade teacher Carmen Garcilazo said. “Regardless of the time or place, she would always welcome you with a smile on her face.”

          Casares left a positive imprint everywhere she went, always trying to spread cheer and joy in her children's hearts.

         “When she was [my neighbor] in fourth grade, she would always chant her rules,” Garcilazo said. “I would ask her why she would do that, and she’d just say, ‘I do it because it sticks to them.’”

          Casares’ chants aren’t the only thing that left an impression on students, many students adored her and were devoted to her.

           “I had a student with me after school, and I asked him what he appreciated about her, and he said her kindness and how loving she was,” Casares’ partner teacher, Melissa Larsen said. “She cared so much about them, and they knew that. They felt that every day; she really loved them and cared about them.”

           To show how much Casares individually cared about her students, if they acted in a disrespectful way, she would always assume that they had a problem, never that they were a problem.

            “If somebody had a behavior problem, it was always, what's going on at home, or what's happening in their life that's making them have a hard time here at school,” Larsen said

             The students aren’t the only ones who have been affected by Casares’ positivity. The community has also felt her love, and have shown it through their responses..

            “The community has been very supportive of us. Such an outpouring of love and support. It makes me feel that I'm loved, it just helps us through this moment,” Garcilazo said

            The community has felt her absence in many ways.

          “When you ask about Señora Casares, they all talk about her love, her smile, her laugh, just how she had the best heart,” Larsen said.

           Her kindness is not the only thing that the community can take away from her life, but they can also view her life as something to aspire to.

           “I hope that a lot of students, especially Latin students, remember her strong motto. She always said that her Latin roots were not something that stopped her from becoming successful, and becoming the person she is, or she was, now,” Garcilazo said.

            Casares’ love will forever shine on NS; Through her current and past students, and to future generations who will remember the person she was.

           “She is a beautiful, wonderful person.” Larsen said. “She was a light to everybody around her.”