Ismael “Izzy” Cruz-Heredia (’23) passed away on Oct. 28. He was the second youngest in a family of nine people. His sister, Liliana Musgrove, said that he was a bright spirit.

“Being raised by women his entire life, he grew up to be a gentle, generous, loving soul,” Musgrove said. “There is nothing he wouldn’t do to put a smile on your face. He always offered you food off his plate before you ate. Even though he was our younger brother, he protected our whole family as if he was the oldest.”

Torin Teubel (’23), a friend of Izzy’s, said that Izzy was a kind person.

“Izzy was a quiet guy unless you really knew him,” Teubel said. “He always offered rides to us, and he was super nice. He would always take care of his friends and family.”

Izzy didn’t just show his caring side to those he was close with. Teubel said that even when he and Izzy weren’t close, Izzy demonstrated this tendency to care for others.

“One time I fainted in the bathroom and he held on to me and helped bring me to the nurse’s office,” Teubel said. “That really gave me a lot of respect for him because we weren’t super close at the time.”

Social science teacher David Ramos said that Izzy was a student he connected with immediately in his U.S. History class, due to the two of them coming from similar backgrounds. After Izzy transferred to Westview in his junior year from Hoover High School in City Heights, Ramos said that Izzy was faced with the challenge of fitting in in a new environment.

“I tried to connect with him and he and I built a really good relationship,” Ramos said. “I could tell that Izzy genuinely wanted to make progress for himself here and make the most of this opportunity that he had by moving here to the Westview community.”

Ramos said that Izzy demonstrated a particularly strong drive to work hard when he wrote his junior paper. Already challenged by Westview’s academic rigor, the junior paper, which was already difficult for many students, doubled what he had to overcome.

“[Izzy] was having a hard time at first, but he stepped it up and worked so hard with other teachers as well,” Ramos said. “It’s a very massive paper, it takes upwards of two months to complete, and he turned in a solid paper that helped him achieve his great grade in my class. I was very proud, and I could tell he was very proud that he had written this very massive research paper and done it in very good quality.”

English teacher Melanie DelaCruz, who had taught Izzy at Hoover in his ninth-grade year and had Izzy at Westview for Homeroom in his junior and senior years, said that Izzy was a student she was proud of.

“I was really grateful that he felt like he could always ask for help from me,” DelaCruz said. “He didn’t want people to know that he wasn’t always getting things, and it might have taken him a bit more time, but he always did get everything in the end.”

Intervention teacher Jennifer Cook worked with Izzy in Academic Success, a class for students providing extra support. She said that Izzy wouldn’t hesitate to stay after class and put extra work into assignments.

“He would often just roll through [lunch] and stay working with me,” Cook said. “I would be like, ‘don’t you want to go get food?’ and he’d respond, ‘it’s ok, Miss Cook, let’s get it done.’”

On Izzy’s graduation day, June 9, Cook and DelaCruz said that Izzy was happy and proud of his two years of work.

“He was excited,” Cook said. “It was a big celebration and a mark for him. I think it was something he was proud of.”

Teubel said that Izzy liked listening to music, specifically local artists, and hanging out with his friends.

Teubel also said that Izzy aspired to go to trade school and become an electrician and was saving money while working at Vons to get there.

Musgrove said that Izzy will be sorely missed as a member of the community.

“He loved fiercely and was loyal to all who he loved,” Musgrove said. “As a family, we have always been and will always be proud of the man he became. His impact will live on forever through all who loved him.”