In the late evening of March 5, 2024, the Worthington community lost one of its very own staff members: Colleen Snyder, middle school math teacher at Kilbourne Middle School. Mrs. Synder also taught at Evening Street Elementary prior to the 6th-grade split in 2019. She was known for being a wonderful teacher, but also a wonderful person. Grief feels different for everyone and doesn’t follow a set path. It can show up in many ways, like sadness, tiredness, or trouble focusing. Over time, it gets easier, but loss is difficult to forget. 

On Thursday, March 6th, Kilbourne Middle School held a memorial for all who wanted to pay respects or just have a safe place to go to grieve and connect with others. The atmosphere was calm, quiet, and comforting in the library where the students and community members gathered. Many students wrote letters to her family and spoke about some of their favorite qualities in Mrs. Synder.

“She always put her kids first; even if she was having a bad day, she made sure her kids were having a good day,” said one of her 7th-grade students. 

Mrs. Snyder juggled the many demands of life, teaching middle school students all day then coming home to 5 kids of her own. Through all that, she managed to create a fun and positive atmosphere in her classroom every day. On top of that, her generosity never went unnoticed. She would give her students candy for raising their hands and answering questions in class or offer Raising Canes for students who helped her with a door decorating contest. 

Her everlasting impact did not only reside with her students who cherished her so greatly but with her fellow teachers as well. Over the years, she met some of her best friends through Kilbourne Middle School.

“During covid, we would sneak out together and go on adventures outside where it was safer to be around people,” said KMS guidance counselor Melissa Arra.

Mrs. Synder will always be known for her kind, empathetic heart, warm touch, and positive mindset, but she was also known for her never-ending obsession with Justin Timberlake. Mrs. Synder was the biggest JT fan around, with pictures and pillows in her room as well as tickets to every available concert in the area. When students think of Justin Timberlake, they now will always he reminded of Mrs. Synder and the lasting impact she made on everyone she met.