As the year comes to a close, the goodbyes are abundant throughout Kennedy High School. As seniors are sent off to college and beyond, many forget the staff and faculty who are retiring after years of working for the district. Beloved Language Arts teacher Cheryl Lindo will be one of the familiar faces leaving Kennedy after 28 years of teaching.

Lindo wasn’t always planning to choose to teach as her career. It took inspiration from another in the field to convince her to change her goal for the future.

“There was a video in my Psych 101 course at the University of Illinois where I saw Ivar Lovass working with kids with autism, and I felt a real connection with his work in getting kids to communicate and I decided I would rather make an impact in that way rather than going into law school, which had been my previous interest,” Lindo said.

As well as potentially returning as a substitute teacher, Lindo plans on continuing teaching after retirement, but not in the traditional classroom setting.

“In September, I’m going to go to India for a month to train to teach yoga,” Lindo said. “I’m going to go to the Himalayan Yoga Bliss studio for a 200-hour training, then come back and teach,” Lindo said.

During her time teaching, Lindo has supported many different clubs and activities, including writing, cheer, swimming, cross country, basketball, and track. Most recently, Lindo has been sponsoring the GSA club at Kennedy High School.

“They were looking for a sponsor, and I felt the kids needed a strong advocate and I wanted to be there for them as their voice in the school,” Lindo said.

It’s not just the collaborations with students that Lindo will miss. The work with staff and faculty that Lindo has done over the years will remain to be some of her favorite memories.

“I think that the best times are when colleagues work together to create a lesson that will really work and click for kids,” Lindo said. “I really do enjoy planning, so I’ll miss the planning and interaction with people, including children, students and teachers.”

Lindo had contributed much to the school and will be missed by the many students whose lives’ she has touched.