East Side High School students in Newark, N.J., honored a late classmate, who donated her organs to help save the lives of five people, MyFoxNY.com reported.
Maria Pomavilla, a senior at East Side High, died in April after a hit-and-run just two blocks away from her home.
Family and students honored her at the school’s senior awards ceremony Wednesday, where two of the organ recipients met the Pomavilla family for the first time.
Suzanne Gonzalez, 43, received her liver.
"It was a whole year of preparing to die; and now I can live and I've got to embrace it," said Gonzalez, who had been in liver failure for a year. "It's very bittersweet because I really feel for the family losing their daughter regardless the way they did."
Pomavilla and her 16-year-old brother learned about organ donations in health class and he convinced his family to donate her organs after she died.
While Pomavilla’s friends now have a hard time walking the hallways of East Side High without her, they are comforted to know that her generous spirit continues to help others.
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