Annie Villegas, a Junior at the time of her death, passed away toward the end of last school year on the morning of April 5th, 2023. The day prior, (According to her teacher, Ms. Hannah Clabough) she had worn her favorite color, blue.

Annie transferred from PVHS the year prior and included herself in the community of SMHS. She was known to always have a smile on her face. Her funeral took place on April 20th, 2023. On June 1st, 2023, Ms. Clabough organized an invent for Annie at the gravesite where friends and family gathered to remember her.

Her English teacher, Ms. Clabough, grew very close to Annie and was very impacted by her death.  She stated, “She had a big personality. She went by Annie, not Melani (her birth name). I knew she was a complicated person, but she always came to school with a smile on her face. I always let her warm up her Cup of Noodles in my class. She was just friendly to everybody.”

Ms. Clabough met Annie when she had her as a student in her English class in 2022/2023. She had received the news about her passing the morning after before her class. “She was going through some personal problems. It was really hard to deal with (Annie’s death); we all miss her presence. I attended her funeral, seeing students there mourning someone their age was difficult. We all supported each other.” She also said, “I would rather be at school with my students who care than be at home. We cried together, shared together. I kept her desk, hid it at my parents home this summer. She changed my life and I’m so grateful that I met someone like her, and that our paths crossed.”

Ms. Clabough continues to commemorate Annie by keeping her old desk in her new classroom in the new building, in room 127.

Ms. Greene’s 2022-2023 art class chose to commemorate Annie by making hearts along side the gate by the staff parking lot (where the 500s building stood before). She said, “I had some students help so it’s more of a collaborative piece to remember Annie. For me it was more about making the art vs. the long impact, more about the process. It was kind of therapeutic, meditative.” Ms. Greene gave most of Annie’s art work to her family after her funeral, “It was really hard. She was the first student that I had that passed away; it was hard to carry on class without her. It made a big impact on me and few of her friends. We just have to carry on I guess. Annie was just so sweet and so energetic; she had a lot of energy.” 

Ms. Greene mentioned that Annie didn’t want to be remembered as Melani Villegas but as Annie. “I know she was very important to her friends; she made a big impact in their lives. She was very funny. One time I called her by her real name (Melani) and she hated it she definitely wanted to called and remembered as Annie. We miss her.”

Valerie Gomez was close to Annie and knew her since they were sat together in Ms. Clabough’s English 3 class. Valerie described her laugh to be contagious and that Annie had this ability to brighten up any room she entered, “Annie was full of love and joy. She always had something nice to say and always made people laugh. Annie was such a bright light and always had a smile on her face. She truly left a mark on anyone that had a conversation with her. Losing her has been immensely painful, but she lives in many hearts and is very loved!”

Note from the author: In an effort to get more interviews for this story, I contacted Annie’s Math teacher and Wrestling Coach. Both responded with not wanting to be interviewed because of the sensitive topic. As I worked through this story, I found that Annie brought a lot of people together and impacted their lives drastically. I couldn’t sit through an interview without having tears coming from the interviewee. Although I didn’t personally know Annie, I feel as she was someone important to this community and will continue to be for years to come. My dearest condolences to Annie’s family, friends, and loved ones.

The cause of death was ruled an accidental fentanyl overdose. Fentanyl overdoses are a leading cause of death all over the United States and, sadly, it has lead to our schools too. Just in 2022 there have been 6,095 fentanyl overdoses in California. This is excluding any other type of overdose. You can find Overdoses in California Here.