By Tristan Bugos &
Alexandra Madsen

“JARS” written in various shades of color, the letters dripping as if wet with paint, served as the signature for the graffiti art of Lane alum Jeremy Rivera who passed away last month. Several students posted “JARS” as a message all over social media recently, honoring his memory.
At Lane Rivera was known for making the most of his days, be it goofing around and loving life in play practices, appreciating and hanging out with his girlfriend and Lane alum Jill Cutro, or drawing graffiti. He was described as having a certain “charisma” about him that brought out a smile in everyone.
“He was one of those people, that other people wanted to be friends with,” Cutro said. “He had this optimism and energy that really made him stand out.”
Rivera and Cutro met her junior year of high school while they were in the play “Grease” together. They became close during the practices, and Rivera asked her out on stage right before curtains went up opening day. They eventually came to be known by the one-word moniker “JillandJeremy,” and wherever you found one, you could find the other.
In November Rivera went into the hospital with chest pains. Initially it was not diagnosed as anything serious, and doctors assumed it would go away on its own. However, when the blood work came back, it revealed that his platelets were low. He was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia and passed away due to the condition on Nov. 27.
Rivera seemed perfectly healthy upon entering the hospital. As a big fan of EDM music, he attended a “Dada Land” concert weeks before, pulling himself and Cutro to the front of the stage for a pillow fight.
Others admired his unique sense of optimism.
Victor Flores, Div. 451, refers to Rivera as an older brother, that he could approach with any problem and Rivera would have an answer. For Rivera, once you were his friend, you were like family to him.
“Jeremy introduced me to so many things,” Flores said. “He once came up to me and taught me how to do this thing called gloving, which is moving your fingers inside gloves with tiny LEDs on the end. We eventually got really good at it and started going to concerts together and practicing in our spare time.”
Not only was Rivera like a mentor to certain students, teachers such as Ms. Hanson got to know him more closely while working with him in three of the Lane theater performances. Due to his already charming personality he had a dominant stage presence and a willingness to do whatever was needed to fulfill his role.
“I rehearsed with Jeremy fifteen hours a week, for three months,” Ms. Hanson said. “I saw him grow as an actor and a performer. He never ever had attitude. He was always very humble and really kind. He actually listened to other students and was a completely hard worker.”
Rivera was considered a stand-up guy who went out of his way to approach even the shy kids in the class. He made it a point to make sure everyone felt comfortable and heard. The way that Jeremy lived is something Cutro thinks everyone should take note of.
“Something like this shouldn’t have to happen for people to wake up and start living their lives right,” Cutro said. “Take advantage of everyday and remember the things you put into your body and how they will affect you someday, because life isn’t always fair and you should appreciate the life that you do have.”
As for students like Flores, Rivera’s memory will always stand out as the big brother that would do anything for him.
“All I can say is I wish people knew more people like Jeremy,” Flores said. “Because that’s the type of person you should aspire to be.”