Doris is a friendly, yet soft-spoken 5th grader. She and her family moved here from Mexico five years ago, so Doris is still learning English. Yet Doris has had a profound effect on one particular student at her school.

Aaron Silsby is a special needs classmate of Doris’s. For more than a year, Doris has looked out for Aaron in the classroom, lunchroom, and on the playground. Aaron has physical and mental limitations, and Doris makes sure that those limitations don’t hold him back. She sees that Aaron has a pencil in hand and workbook ready when math class starts.

Doris’s help means the world to their teacher, Laura Page. “It’s nice when you have a group of 25 students to actually have someone getting him on the same page,” Laura explains.
Because Aaron can’t walk as easily as most people, Doris lends her shoulder of support as she and Aaron make their way to class. “She’s nice to me. She’s not mean,” Aaron says.

“I feel she’s an example for adults and for other people in this school and in this community of how to treat someone who is different from your typical child,” Laura says.

The work Doris does has helped Aaron come into his own as a person. “I tend to believe that it is because he has a friend in Doris, and when you have that, it’s like his confidence level has blossomed,” Laura explains.

For Doris, giving from the heart to help her friend, Aaron, is simply what feels right.