Business teacher Ashley Quinlin remembers when freshman Sebastian Magallanes walked into her Principle of Business Management class without his mask and let out a “big laugh” for the first time in her room.

“He had the absolute best smile,” Quinlin said. “He lit up his little corner. From what I could tell, he was a really good friend to his little group.”

He was reserved and quiet at first, but Quinlin had made it her goal to get to know all of her students better, Sebastian included. When he came to class with a mask, she adjusted to his situation and always gave him the option of sitting alone.

She knew he was someone she had to motivate and her actions led to him opening up slowly in her class. 

“His ideas were great,” Quinlin said. “The input he gave us on some of our projects, I did not anticipate. He would actually get the discussion going some of the time.” 

Sebastian passed away on Feb. 13. 

Quinlin said that even though he had rough days, he was still respectful. This was noticed by other teachers as well, such as his math teacher Ethan Coffman. 

Coffman knew he tried his best in school and wanted to become a better student. He noted that Sebastian was good at communicating despite his quiet personality and emailed him or asked him questions after class. 

He remembers that they always greeted each other before class, and one of his favorite memories was when he saw his face for the first time after Magallanes took his mask off. 

“He’s just a good kid,” Coffman said. “…He was one that I always felt like was trying to (improve) and find his way in the world.” 

Some of his friends saw a different side of him. For freshman Kaine Jones, Sebastian made a particular impression.

Jones knew him as someone who took challenges face on and was friendly and caring to those around him. 

He was in disbelief when he first heard the news. He only realized that it was true when he texted Sebastian’s mom and saw a GoFundMe page dedicated to him. 

Missing him, Jones created a video in Sara Berghoff’s Principles Broadcasting class as a memorial. 

”He’s one of the best friends I’ll ever have and will have,” Jones said.