At Bryant Elementary, courage has a name: Angela Kirkendoll. An instructional paraprofessional cherished by students and staff, she was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer on January 26. “I’ve gone through 16 rounds of chemotherapy,” she shared. Yet, as Principal Leslie Penfield noted, “You would never know in a million years that she's been fighting this battle. Miss Angie just carries herself in a way you would never know.”
To show their support, the school launched a Pink Out Day: an idea that began with the office secretaries and quickly grew into a campus-wide movement. “Everybody here at Bryant Elementary said, ‘Let’s let the kids get involved too, because they know who Miss Angie is,’” Penfield said. Students had noticed her absence and asked daily where she had been. One of the most touching moments came when her son received a special shirt reading I’m doing the pink out for my mom. When she walked into a sea of pink, Kirkendoll said, “It was just overwhelming. 200 children wearing pink, and all the teachers, the paras, everybody in pink.”
For many, the day was more than a celebration: it was personal. “The students were thrilled we were celebrating her, but they were also ready to see her,” said BES Teacher Tanika Anderson-Davis. “It energizes me every time we celebrate something like this, and it brings it close to home.” Ms. Angie says she felt loved even beyond the Pink Out. “During chemo, they made me a whole basket full of stuff to take home. Anything I needed,” Kirkendoll said. “From Dr. Walters to my principals to the teachers to the paras... everybody made sure that I was taken care of.” She summed it up simply: “Bryant family is a very real thing. They really do take care of you like you're family.”
Now, she gets to share the news everyone hoped for: “My pathology came back, and I have no cancer… They tested my lymph nodes, and I have no cancer. I’m sticking around.” And for those who watched her fight with grace, the message is clear. As Anderson-Davis put it: “She’s my hero.”