Woman heard doorbell and found her high school teacher at her doorstep—the story behind his clothes 'broke her heart'

Many people fondly remember the teachers who taught them important life lessons. Some students, without a doubt, even want to help those people if they ever get a chance. Similarly, a woman got the opportunity to help her former high school teacher when he turned up at her door as her DoorDash delivery driver. The woman, Loreiny Penalo, who goes by @loreinypac on TikTok, learned why he was delivering food and decided to help him. The former student shared her teacher's story on the platform.

"What a surprise! My DoorDasher turned out to be my high school science teacher, Mr. Melendez," Penalo shared. "He's dashing to be able to afford his son's engineering degree. Shoutout to all the teachers." Penalo shared that she graduated from high school with the class of 2010, but her teacher still recognized her immediately. The caption read, "I was like, look at me now! I am a PA." She added, "Teachers deserve better. Wish I could do something for him so he didn't have to work." She felt that her teacher should be enjoying his retirement instead of working. At first, she couldn't recognize him, as he was not wearing his usual eye patch, per PEOPLE.

Her former high school science teacher, Wilmer Melendez, wore the eye patch due to an autoimmune condition he was suffering from. The condition made his muscles weak. "I was falling asleep and my muscles, especially the muscles in my eyes, were weak and affected. I wore an eye patch at the time and even the kids in my family named me 'Tio Pirata,'" Melendez told the outlet. Penalo shared that she had never done such a thing before but decided to set up a GoFundMe campaign for him. The page has amassed more than $41,000 through donations and Penalo was really excited to share the news with her teacher.

In another video, she went to his home to give him a big surprise. The teacher instantly told her that he was sad about not getting her number and a copy of the photo they had taken. She explained what had happened, and he was in complete shock. Also, he was really thankful for what his former student managed to do for him. The man joked that he was so shocked that he couldn't let go of the balloons Penalo got for him. She made him and his wife the beneficiary of the donations and they ended up talking about chemistry, life, and theology for four hours at his house. People shared that they admired Penalo's gesture in the comment section of the video.

@toeslaz wrote, "The fact that you showed the whole GoFundMe process before giving it over to him makes it all the more perfect. You're such a beautiful person! It has always made me skeptical when others hold GoFundMe for others." @minty1628 commented, "God will always bring back the people we are supposed to help. A relationship, a friend, a teacher...The Lord trusted you and he knew you’d help him! You’re an angel. Thank you for everything you did!" @thebarbs8 remarked, "This is absolutely beautiful. You guys were meant to meet again. Thank you for helping his family. You will be blessed in life with that kind heart of yours."

You can follow Loreiny Penalo (@loreinypac) on TikTok for more lifestyle content.