Mauro: A gentle handshake and a smile

by Faith Mitusina 11/30/17

If you ask anyone in Wethersfield High School “Who is Mauro?” I could guarantee a smile would instantly beam across their face and give you a list of all the amazing things about Mauro.
Before I ever enrolled in the ALS classroom, I knew Mauro because he says “Hi” to absolutely everyone and always greets you with a gentle handshake. After I joined the class, I realized Mauro is without a doubt one of Wethersfield High’s greatest assets.
Regardless of who you are or what you are going through, Mauro does not judge and is always ready to have a good time. Mauro is the life of the room and is always up to something just to get a laugh out of you. And that alone is why I believe he is such an important person in our little community. He spreads happiness to everyone.


How does Mauro help to shape WHS?

​In order to really understand Mauro’s impact, I spoke to some of the people that know him best and work with him on a daily basis. I asked each person the same question and their answers were absolutely heartwarming.
“How do you think Mauro helps to shape WHS?”

“I think Mauro has shaped Wethersfield High [because] well, everyone knows Mauro. Everyone loves Mauro. Mauro loves everyone, he talks to everyone. I feel like he made people more aware of the ALS community and everyone in that classroom. He helped people get more involved. Mauro is just awesome!”
-Lianna Montalvo (Senior)
“Mauro has helped to shape Wethersfield High School because [of] his personality. He is a very friendly face and you can’t help but to look at him and smile. Whenever he looks at you he smiles and some people don’t have a friendly face to see in the hallways, so by seeing Mauro it makes me happy, it makes everyone happy.”
-Triniti White (Senior)
“Well, he’s just so friendly and so sweet, and I think that his vibe is unconditional love. He doesn’t judge anybody. He doesn’t care what you look like, what you’re going through, he does not care he just loves all people in general, unconditionally. And that right there is a gift. I wish they could sell that because you don’t find that often but Mauro has it.”
-Jonna Roberge (Paraprofessional)
“ He has made people more aware that different is okay. When he first came to Wethersfield High, he didn’t speak at all. Now he’s speaking in full sentences and is conversational and he didn’t do that before. He feels very comfortable here and everyone makes him feel loved and welcomed.”
-Debbie Ball (Paraprofessional)
Mauro endlessly spreads happiness to everyone.  His willingness to accept all people for who they are should be an inspiration to all of us. In just the short time that I’ve known Mauro, he has taught me how important it is to be kind. The effortlessness of how loving he is, is such a beautiful thing and that alone is why I believe Mauro will leave such a tremendous legacy when he graduates from Wethersfield High School.

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