Mom Matsuda

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  Wai’anae, HI
  
  October 13, 2015
  
  Wai`anae High School’s health teacher, Beth Matsuda, reserves a piece of her heart for her students. In addition to teaching her kids the basics of the human body, she makes it a point to let them know that they have a shoulder to lean on.
  
  One of her prior students, senior Keoki Freitas expressed, “She is just there if I need her...always there to listen and give me advice on what I should do,” showing that the bond between her and her students are not temporary.
  
  In the eyes of Ms. Matsuda, having a strong connection with her students is vital to their learning in her class, “By building good relationships with them they trust me more and they are willing to accept help from me,” she admitted.
  
  The bond that Mr. Matsuda shares with her students is amplified by the knowledge that she will never be able to build something like that with kids of her own.  
  
  As she recounted, “I always wanted to have kids of my own, I always thought I would have 4-6 kids, but then the boyfriend I was with for 10 years, that I really loved, the day after he asked me to marry him, he had a massive heart attack and passed away.”
  
  Compounding her misfortune, she added, “a couple years later I got cancer twice so I can’t have my own kids.”
  
  It's a tragedy that she has had to deal with for the past 20 years, but that does not stop her from spreading the love and generosity that she saved for her own kids unto Wai’anae High School’s students.
  
  For instance, “I had one girl that her family moved her senior year, but she really wanted to graduate from Wai`anae High School, so she lived with me her senior year.”
  
  The endless amount of support and comfort that the students have given Ms. Matsuda has allowed her to overcome the hardships that she faced.
  
  Expressing her emotions towards her kids, Ms. Matsuda announced, “I totally love my kids because they showed me how to love and how to share love.”  
  
  With an enthusiastic attitude, Beth Matsuda continues be a positive image to her student.
  
  Having said that, "The students are the reason why I stay at Wai`anae...there are good days and bad days...but I stay for the students.”
  
  Leaving a piece of her heart with each of her kids, Beth Matsuda, more commonly known as ‘Mom’, changes their lives while they change hers.

LOOKING BACK

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Not only did I learn CPR,  but also the love Ms. Matsuda has for her students.

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Cheralei Tokunaga-Williams, Reporter

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When talking to Beth Matsuda, I learned that friends are important because when times get hard, they will be there for you.

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​Elizabeth Ufi, Photographer

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