At 14, I was so poor I used to pretend I forgot my lunch. It was easier than admitting there was no food at home. My mom worked nights at a dry cleaner, rent was barely paid, and my dad had disappeared years earlier. I spent lunch in the library, hungry and trying to hide it—until Ms. Grennan started showing up. First a banana “left behind,” then a granola bar “extra from the lounge.” Eventually she handed me sandwiches with a soft smile and no questions. Then one Monday, she was simply gone. No explanation.

I thought about her for years. A decade later, after clawing my way through school and becoming a lawyer, I was working at a legal aid office when I saw the name on an intake form: Maeve Grennan. I thought it was a coincidence—until she walked in. She didn’t recognize me at first, but when she did, we hugged. Then she told me the truth: she’d left teaching after a false accusation ruined her career.

No support, no apology—she lost everything. Now she needed help with a landlord refusing repairs for dangerous mold. I took her case and won her relocation, a settlement, and help clearing her record. But I couldn’t stop there. With letters and testimonies from former colleagues, we fought to clear her name.

A year later, her teaching license was restored. She didn’t return to the classroom, but she started a literacy group for underserved kids—and asked me to speak at the opening. “You saved me,” she whispered afterward. “No,” I said. “You saved me first.”