Students
and staff members at Newman Smith High School have come together this week,
praying and sharing memories of a sophomore who made a mark on each of their
lives.
Jeremy Wilmans, a 16-year-old Carrollton resident, died May 23 from injuries he sustained after a skateboarding accident three days before.
Now, the high school, where Jeremy was a wrestler and linebacker on the junior varsity football team, is marked with signatures on a wall where students scribbled messages and candle wax from a student-led vigil held underneath the flagpole.
“His teachers here just think he’s hung the moon,” principal Joe Pouncy said. “He was just solid. Solid. All the way around. We have nothing but accolades for this young man.”
For days, students were standing outside the ICU at Parkland Memorial Hospital, praying for Jeremy and his family, said Jenna Walden, a senior and friend of Jeremy’s.
“This has brought unity to our school,” she said. “Not once in the four years that I’ve been here have I seen unity like this — unity through love, not hate. Everybody was able to pull together and support each other through this hardship. … You never know how much time you have.”
Two Facebook pages have been created, R.I.P. Jeremy Wilmans and God Bless Jeremy Wilmans, where his classmates are planning to upload videos they are creating about who Jeremy was, “so that when his little sister grows up, she will know him,” Walden said.
Walden said she was personally touched by the outpouring of support.
“It’s totally was a God thing,” Walden said. “He truly showed up here and
showed himself. How great is our God who can comfort kids through all of
this.”
