TOLEDO, Ohio — Teachers teach many life lessons. And it turns out that sometimes, kids do, too.
Students at McCord Junior High in Sylvania on Thursday supported one of their favorite teachers in her long breast with breast cancer.
Adrienne Goldberg is teaching her class all the different materials you can use to paint a picture, never thinking the picture of her own life would involve breast cancer, especially at just 35 years old.
"No one's ever prepared for cancer. It's on nobody's bingo card," she said. "Most people don't get mammograms until the age of 40, but I found a weird lump under my armpit and I kept an eye on it and it just seemed off."
It's clear that Goldberg is a favorite in the halls of McCord Junior High School. She is the same art teacher the school has always loved, just with a new look.
"I looked a little different the first day of school," Goldberg said. "I had hair last year and now I don't.
She explained to her students with care what it meant for her to be diagnosed with cancer.
"On the very first day, I talked about the elephant in the room and explained that I have cancer and that they can't catch it because you hear the word 'cancer' and some kids don't know what that is," Goldberg said. "I also reassured them that I'm going to be okay."
The school was 'pinked out' to support Goldberg on Thursday, the day that she receives her chemotherapy treatments.
"It's amazing to see students I don't even have in class yet with pink on their faces and supporting me," she said.
Her coworkers surprised her with a balloon arch, painted the rock in front of the school, and the French classes made cards for her door.
"We're wearing pink to support breast cancer and we're hoping it makes her feel better about it," said Madison Nafziger, a student of Goldberg's.
Another student, Ruby Seifert said, "We all made pink desserts and we sold them for $1 a piece and we sold them to raise money for the Victory Center."
There were overwhelming acts of kindness in McCord's pink halls, where on Thursday, maybe the students were the teachers.
"They are so smart and talented and mature that they say, 'I hope you feel better,' they ask how I'm doing," Goldberg said. "Their hearts are so big and I think sometimes as adults we can forget how caring and empathetic kids can be."
Goldberg presented the Victory Center with a check for $850 with the money the students raised from the bake sale put on by the volleyball team, along with a penny war.
The Victory Center told WTOL 11 that amount of money can provide survivors with things like 34 oncology massages, six counseling sessions for three survivors and their families, or 12 group yoga classes for 15 survivors. Read more about the Victory Center here.