Ivy Schamis, a former teacher at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, survived the 2018 shooting. Two of her students, Nick Dworet and Helena Ramsay, were among the 17 victims. As Emily Baumgaertner Nunn writes for The New York Times, Schamis has remained a strong presence and source of support in the lives of the surviving students in her class, despite her own struggles with guilt and PTSD. As Nunn shows in this piece, a group text thread that Schamis maintains—a space offering words of encouragement and emotional guidance—keeps her closely connected to these young adults as they navigate a life full of trauma. “For them,” writes Nunn, “she would be what she couldn’t be for the two who died: a lifeline.”
The students, too, scattered around the country, but the Room 1214 text thread bound them together. Over time, there were updates: Ally Allen, inspired by Ms. Schamis, was preparing to become a teacher. Hannah Carbocci was pursing a career in criminal justice and writing her thesis on warning signs in school shooters. Catie Krakow was getting a degree in mental health counseling and shared tips on how the others could care for themselves as another anniversary approached.
I hope everyone is doing as well as they could be, wrote Elena Blanco, who had been assigned to the seat behind Nick.
You guys are forever family, replied Matt Walker, whose desk had been next to Helena’s.
As long as I am breathing, Ms. Schamis told them, I will always be available for you.
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