By Erin Wiltgen

chh@heraldsun.com; 419-6654

HILLSBOROUGH -- Sometimes what makes a hero in one person's eyes is just a job well done.

The teachers and staff involved in saving the life of 17-year-old Natalie Hough, a senior at Cedar Ridge High School in Hillsborough, insist that they merely did their jobs.

"I didn't need any kind of recognition," said Lisa Segars, the business and computer applications teacher at Cedar Ridge and one of the first on the scene. "Her being OK was all I needed. There's so many people involved, and all the pieces fell in place."

But the Hough family and the members of the Orange County Board of Education think differently. On Jan. 4, the board formally thanked the 11 Cedar Ridge staff and teachers who played a critical role contributing to Natalie's recovery.

"There's a lot of people who may not have taken the steps and the actions that these people did," said Michael Gilbert, public information officer for Orange County schools. "It's because of their quick thinking and reaction that Natalie is alive today. You don't often get to talk about things like that. So it was great to be able to do that and recognize them for this."

Gilbert opened the ceremony with a brief background on the incident -- how a student had heard sounds in the girls' bathroom, alerted a staff member and ensured the afflicted girl received CPR almost instantly.

"The public information officer called them heroes," said Libbie Hough, Natalie's mom. "And that's certainly an apt description. We've been calling those folks and many others angels. It's a close fit."

Hough then stood up to say her piece, thanking the teachers profusely and hugging each in turn, thanking the board for installing another 28 defibrillators in schools throughout the county, increasing the total number throughout the school system to 35.

"They took this very seriously," Hough said. "Just having taken that action a couple of years ago, they've already saved at least one life. And now they're prepared if they are put in the position to respond to other folks who may need those services too."

Finally, the 11 honored individuals received the Orange County Board of Education certificate of recognition.

"I was kind of surprised to see the standing ovation," said Allison Eaton, a biology, sports medicine, and anatomy and physiology teacher at Cedar Ridge who gave Natalie CPR. "I didn't expect any kind of applause or anything; that was kind of surprising. It was really nice to see the whole Hough family together, happy and whole."

The Houghs themselves enjoyed finally having the opportunity to officially thank those who began the miracle that is Natalie's recovery, especially since the teenager has made leaps and bounds since the incident, Hough said.

The meeting was originally scheduled for December but was pushed back. Hough said that delay gave Natalie the time she needed to regain a sense of normalcy in her health and everyday life.

"That way it was really feeling like we've come through this rather than still being in the throes of it," Hough said. "It was another opportunity to begin to really move forward. Being there Monday night was a nice opportunity to begin anew."

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SIGN UP FOR CPR

To take free CPR training classes through the South Orange Rescue Squad, visit http://www.sorescue.org/pages/cpr.shtml.

THE HONOR ROLL

Eleven teachers and staff from Cedar Ridge High School were instrumental in saving Natalie Hough's life. They were:

Diane Wilson

Barbara Seago

Debbie Wiley

Sheila McDonald

Carolyn Moore

Shirley Ray

Sheila Wilkinson

Melinda Fornes

Lisa Segars

Allison Eaton

Teresa Langone