If you’re someone who frequents the upstairs study area at Neshaminy High School (NHS), then you’re most likely familiar with the warm presence of NHS’s cafeteria aide, Lori Link. However, few students know the journey that brought her here.
Link spent several years working at Robert Pollock Elementary School in Philadelphia, but after a breast cancer diagnosis, she stated that she “didn’t have the physical strength to come back” to Kindergarten.
This wasn’t Link’s first encounter with cancer, just another run-in that she’d once again triumph over.
Decades ago, she was diagnosed with squamous and basal cell carcinoma of the skin, the most common form of skin cancer. Years later in 2014, she developed a thyroid nodule. Following this, she was diagnosed with two different forms of breast cancer in 2020 and 2021. Each diagnosis required her to learn, adapt, and find a way to keep moving forward.
Link describes herself as “living proof that you can survive a cancer diagnosis… or four.”
While she’s proved herself by coming out the other side the same person time and time again, that doesn’t mean these experiences left her unfazed.
“Everything happens so fast: biopsy, surgery, treatment,” Link explained. “And your mental state catches up with your physical state.”
Link’s ability to be honest about her experiences remains an inspiration for anyone else going through a similar situation, which is what she aims to do. This is made apparent from her work with Neshaminy students as the club advisor for The Kids Matter (TKM).
“[TKM is] a club no one wants to be in,” Link admits. “It’s not only cancer survivors, but it’s also people who are supporting people with cancer at home.”
But Link’s help given to teens extends far past her club, always ready to lend a hand to students in any way she can in the upstairs cafeteria.
“[At Neshaminy] I can just be a resource, a help, a sounding board, whatever I can… to make [students’] lives easier,” Link elucidates.
At NHS, Link discovered her new calling, feeling revitalized by her new role as a cafeteria aide. She’s grown so fond of the position that, despite her impressive three teaching certifications, she stated that even if she was offered the chance to go back to teaching, she “can’t see [herself] going back to teaching full time.”
Today, Link proves you don’t have to write report cards and lesson plans to have an effect on students. Whether it be small pieces of advice, help with assignments, or just pleasant conversation, Link leaves work everyday leaving a positive mark on the Neshaminy students she interacts with.
“Make the best of life every single day,” Link advises. “Every day [is] another day that’s given… and you make the best of it.”
