PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. \u2014 Most people can remember at least one teacher who made a lasting impact \u2014 the educator who encouraged them at just the right moment or pushed them to achieve more than they thought possible.<\/p>\n
Leer en espa\u00f1ol<\/a><\/p>\n For students, families, and colleagues at Pembroke Pines Charter Elementary School, that teacher is Joyce Del Campo-Aguila.<\/p>\n After receiving dozens of nominations from across the community, Local 10\u2019s Good News South Florida selected Del Campo-Aguila as its first-ever Teacher of the Year, recognizing not only her decades of dedication in education, but also the extraordinary compassion she has shown beyond the classroom.<\/p>\n The surprise announcement came during a school morning as Del Campo-Aguila prepared her fourth-grade students for testing.<\/p>\n \u201cHi, Ms. Aguila,\u201d Local 10 Community Relations Director Mayte Padron said as she entered the classroom with a camera crew.<\/p>\n Moments later, the longtime educator learned she had been chosen for the honor, surrounded by cheering colleagues and emotional hugs.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, you got me good, babe!\u201d Del Campo-Aguila laughed after the surprise reveal.<\/p>\n Del Campo-Aguila has spent more than 30 years serving students in South Florida. Over the course of her career, she has worked not only as a classroom teacher, but also as a principal and assistant principal before ultimately returning to teaching full time.<\/p>\n \u201cTo think that the first year I started teaching, those kids are about 40 years old now,\u201d she said. \u201cSo I can be their grandkids\u2019 teacher, but it feels like every day is a new day.\u201d<\/p>\n Her peers describe her as both inspiring and endlessly giving.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s an inspiration. She\u2019s giving,\u201d one colleague said.<\/p>\n But it was Del Campo-Aguila\u2019s actions outside the classroom that deeply moved the community member who nominated her: her husband, Orlando Aguila.<\/p>\n The couple, who have been together since high school, have shared more than three decades of marriage.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a funny guy. He makes me laugh after 32 years,\u201d Del Campo-Aguila said.<\/p>\n Last year, their bond was tested when Orlando was diagnosed with kidney disease. Without hesitation, Del Campo-Aguila stepped forward to donate one of her kidneys to save his life.<\/p>\n \u201cI just wanted that done as soon as possible so his quality of life would improve right away \u2014 and our quality of life as a family,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Orlando calls his wife his \u201csuperwoman.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI call her my superwoman who gave me my super kidney,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Their children, Annabella and Aidan, say the selfless act demonstrated the depth of their mother\u2019s love.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fact that she did that just shows us so much love, for both of us, and for my dad,\u201d Annabella said.<\/p>\n \u201cMy dad would have done the same thing if it was the other way around,\u201d Aidan added. \u201cI am blessed that I have both of them in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n As part of the recognition, Publix Community Relations Manager Robyn Hankerson Printemps presented Del Campo-Aguila with a $1,000 Publix gift card and a celebratory cake.<\/p>\n \u201cYou see the passion not only for her students but also for her family,\u201d Hankerson Printemps said during the presentation.<\/p>\n For Del Campo-Aguila, however, the greatest reward appears to be the people whose lives she continues to touch \u2014 both in school and at home.<\/p>\n This Mother\u2019s Day marked six months since the kidney transplant, and the Aguila family says they are especially looking forward to celebrating Father\u2019s Day together this year.<\/p>\n And while Del Campo-Aguila has certainly earned high marks for altruism, she also gets recognition for athleticism: she has already completed two 5K races this year, placing in the top three of her age category in both events.<\/p>\n For her students, her family, and her community, Del Campo-Aguila is more than a teacher \u2014 she\u2019s a lesson in compassion, resilience, and love.<\/p>\n To donate:\u00a0If you\u2019d like to make a monetary donation toward a Good News South Florida story or project,\u00a0click here.<\/a>\u00a0Local 10 has established the Local 10 Fund with The Miami Foundation and 100% of your donation will go toward the cause you designate in the \u201cadditional information\u201d box.To volunteer or submit a story idea:\u00a0If you\u2019d like to volunteer for a Good News South Florida project or would like to submit a story for consideration, email\u00a0goodnews@local10.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Good News South Florida airs Fridays on the Local 10 morning news at 10 a.m. It will encore Fridays at 3:30 p.m. and Sunday mornings, beginning at 6 a.m.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. \u2014 Most people can remember at least one teacher who made a lasting impact \u2014…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":280948,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29],"class_list":["post-280947","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280947","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=280947"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280947\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/280948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=280947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=280947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=280947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}