Growing up, Markle, 36, attended Immaculate Heart High School, an all-girl school for middle and high school students in Los Angeles.
“She had a lot of inner strength. She was spunky. She was feisty. She loved to sing. She loved to act, but she also had that depth, which kind of moved into all of her other subjects. And that was what came through in the end,” Christine Knudsen, who taught one of Markle’s senior elective classes, told ABC News’ “20/20.”
“She
was a remarkable student even then. She was very enthusiastic about the
material, but always took it a step further,” Maria Pollia, Markle’s
former theology teacher, told “20/20.” “She always was able to go deeper
and to really challenge herself, which is something that one looks for
and hopes for with students, that they'll take what you give them and
then take it for themselves, make something important for themselves.”Markle called Pollia one of her "mentors" and said the teacher had inspired her in “The Game Changers: Success Secrets of 40 Women at the Top,” a book Markle contributed to written by Samantha Brett and Steph Adams.
"I
started working at a soup kitchen in Skid Row of Los Angeles when I was
13 years old, and the first day I felt really scared. I was young, and
it was rough and raw down there, and though I was with a great volunteer
group, I just felt overwhelmed,” Markle is quoted as saying in the
book. “I remember one of my mentors, Mrs. Maria Pollia, told me that
'Life is about putting others' needs [above] your own fears.' That has
always stayed with me."Pollia said that as a junior in high school, Markle was very serious about trying to serve her community, especially those in places like Skid Row and other difficult areas of Los Angeles.
“She also had this compassion for homeless people, for gang members, for people who are on the margins of society,” Pollia recalled. “She took our social justice teaching very seriously and wanted to not just study about it but to be a part of making the world a more open and welcoming place for those that the rest of society had ignored.”
Pollia
said she’s pleased Markle found her guidance and advice useful. She
added that she and her former student had talked about how the people
they were helping were not just hungry for food, but also for human
contact.Royal wedding details revealed: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to marry in May
How Meghan Markle's 'effortless' style is taking the fashion world by storm
“I think this is one thing that Meghan and I discussed, that it was not just the food. It was the recognition that someone was a human being and saying ‘Good morning’ to them was really, really important,” said Pollia. “Apparently, I told her that, ‘One needed to put the needs of others above one's own fears.’ And apparently, she's carried that with her, and I'm so proud to know that that was something that was important to her.”
Students at Immaculate Heart High School are excited to hear of Markle’s future wedding, Knudsen and Pollia said.
“Everyone's
buzzing. So students are very, very excited, and they're excited to
find out that Christine and I actually knew her and taught her,” Pollia
said, laughing.Both Pollia and Knudsen say they are thrilled for Markle on her engagement to Prince Harry and the new position she will have to help others, just as she did as their student.
“I just think it's wonderful that we live in a time where social expectations even for royals have loosened to such a degree that they can finally be happy and that these two people can finally find happiness with each other without worrying about social convention quite so much," said Knudsen.
“I am confident that
she will use her position in a way that will benefit others. I think
that's part of who she is. And I think that a lot of good will be done
in the world thanks to this,” said Pollia.
By: Writter
Birbal Babu<<
No comments:
Post a Comment