The Aragon community experienced a tragic loss on Tuesday, Jan. 23 when College and Career Adviser Laurie Tezak passed away due to rising complications from a serious illness. An Aragon alumna herself, Tezak worked at Aragon for 32 years, starting in 1992 as an Instructional Aide before being promoted to her most recent position in 2006.
“Not many people graduate from high school and then come back to have a full career at the school they attended,” said academic counselor Lea Sanguinetti. “Ms. Tezak always had an answer or a story for how something came about on this campus.”
As the College and Career Adviser, Tezak coordinated Advanced Placement tests, college and military visits, and worked especially closely with seniors to help them navigate the college application process in an equitable manner.
“She always made sure that all students were served,” said financial aid and scholarships adviser Caroline Moala. “She always made sure she went back to the special-ed and AVID classes and … and always made herself available to all students.”
Math teacher Adam Jacobs is an Aragon alumni, and knew Tezak as a counselor during his time as a student.
“I just remember she was always very caring and kind,” Jacobs said. “And [looking] back, I always felt really cared [for].”
Tezak was observant. She paid attention to the students on campus and constantly worked to better support them.
“She was very good at connecting kids with me if the student needed a little extra support,” said principal Valerie Arbizu. “She was also really good at helping me identify students who might need a letter of recommendation from my office to just help a little to get over that admissions hurdle.”
But to senior Trish Clemente, Tezak was more than a counselor—she was someone Clemente could confide in.
“I felt like our connection was like [that] of friends,” Clemente said. “She’s someone I always looked up to. I wish I could have shown her my degree when I graduate from college, [and] shown her who I will be in the future … She always believed in me and gave me so much love.”
Senior Zion Oliveros spent much of their time interacting with Tezak in the counseling office, and remembers Tezak’s cheery and welcoming nature.
“I received my senior photo proofs, and I was showing them to everyone in the counseling office,” Oliveros said. “And Ms. Tezak liked this specific photo that [was] in black and white. She said ‘I love how vintage it looks, it looks like a glamor shot.’ And I was like, ‘I’ll save that one specially for you.’ But she was already in the hospital when I received my actual senior photo prints … It was hard, and I was worried about her. But I was able to give her the photo through someone else. I’m just hoping that she was able to see it.”
Tezak is remembered as an advocate. She also served as the union representative for Aragon’s classified staff for about 15 years.
“When she wanted her voice to be heard, she could do it in such a way that everyone would want to listen. And she did it in the most graceful and elegant way,” said former Aragon academic counselor Trisha Liskay and a close friend of Tezak’s. “She wasn’t a wallflower. She stood her ground.”
Tezak deeply valued the Aragon community, and constantly introduced new elements to improve the resources available for students, including Naviance. She was also one of the key contributors of launching Aragon’s biennial Career Day.
“Career Day became more and more successful because Ms. Tezak worked quietly under the radar without letting you know how much [effort] she put into it,” said staff secretary Dounia Kardosh. “And at the end, you would see a perfect production and she would quietly just go on with her next task … She didn’t want the recognition, she just wanted to her job and do it her standards—and her standards were second to none”
She dedicated her effort to not just helping the Aragon community, but also often went out of her way for the people around her.
“Last year was my first year celebrating Halloween at Aragon, and I didn’t know that Aragon is so big on the Halloween spirit,” said Career and CTE Coordinator Queenie Hua. “We were all witches in the counseling department, and I didn’t have a costume. So Ms. Tezak made me a beautiful, handmade costume and let me keep it, and I will forever cherish that.”
To many staff members, seeing Tezak every morning was part of a daily routine.
“It was a good way to start your day and catch up with her,” said art teacher Kathryn Katcher. “She always had an encouraging word: ‘don’t worry about it, it’ll all work out.’ She always had a way of making you feel like everything was going to be okay.”
Even during times of personal distress, Tezak is remembered for the effort she put in showing up for others.
“Her strength to deal with loss, to help her family, to be able to come back to work and carry on was absolutely unbelievable,” Liskay said. “Laurie and I used to do some small group college presentations together, and I remember she would sit there with her sunglasses on. She wanted to be there for the students, but she also wanted to keep herself composed. And I don’t think I could have done that.”
Tezak forged deep connections with people on campus, and preserved those relationships off campus too. Having known each other for 22 years, Tezak and Kardosh often traveled together.
“I love to cook and she knew that,” Kardosh said. “We were up in Portland once … [and] when we got to the downtown area, she was like, ‘I know the perfect place for you.’ She took me into this shop with spices and teas, and it [was like] I was in Wonderland … She came back [after an hour] and I was still shopping, and she was like ‘I knew it.’ She knew exactly what people liked and what their passion was.”
Jacobs remembers a special memory with Tezak and her thoughtful nature.
“My wife and I went up to Seattle a couple years ago, and Ms. Tezak’s daughter lives up there,” Jacobs said. “It was a Friday, we took the day off and flew up there. I was walking through the Seattle airport and all of a sudden I looked up, and there was Laurie Tezak, [with] a big smile on her face.”
Tezak loved life. She rooted for the San Francisco 49ers, made floral arrangements, sewed clothes, biked to school and loved ‘60s rock-and-roll.
“She was proud to be a hippie,” said academic counselor Josephine Ho.
Even with her demanding position at Aragon, Tezak never stopped learning.
“The reason she had so much knowledge is because she was always so willing to learn,” Ho said. “Just like students here who take dual enrollment or concurrent enrollment classes, Ms. Tezak was a currently enrolled student at the [College of San Mateo] too. She walked what she talked … her education never stopped and that’s what made her so special.”
Despite having worked at Aragon for over three decades, Tezak was never able to make a firm decision to retire. However, according to several staff members, she was considering retiring at the end of this year.
“The idea of retiring was flowing through her mind [for] years but every year we’d say ‘no you can’t leave,” Kardosh said. “We used to beg her [to] reconsider, and she did. She did because she enjoyed the students, and she enjoyed Aragon. She enjoyed the community. She knew she had so much to give.”
Tezak’s death hasn’t just left a hole in the counseling office, but also in the several relationships she made over the years.
“She was my best friend,” Liskay said. “I still haven’t accepted that she’s gone. My life will never be the same without her … But I feel so much gratitude that I was able to have her in my life. She was just such a gift to me, my family, her family, and to all the students. She adored her job, and adored the students and would do anything to help them.”
In order to honor her time and the impact she has had on the Aragon community, administration is currently working on finding an appropriate way to honor Tezak.
“We’re headed in a good direction upon honoring her in the facility,” Arbizu said. “But we’re also [talking about] identifying the things that she stood for as an educator. And is there a way, perhaps through a scholarship or something of that sort, to honor students who remind us of the character attributes we loved most about her?”
Tezak’s knowledge and kindness made a long-lasting impact on Aragon, leaving behind an enduring legacy.
