A Palmerton Area High School student who was seriously injured in a car crash in January continues to make strides in her recovery.

Beth Brong, the mother of 10th-grade student Emily Brong, used Tuesday's school board meeting as a platform to thank the school district, and community as a whole, for its support of her daughter.Emily, a sophomore, has been hospitalized after she was involved in a crash on Jan. 19 in Franklin Township."You don't understand how our lives have changed since," Brong said. "The outpouring of support is just phenomenal."Brong added, "Emily's a fighter. She continues to make steps in the right direction toward her recovery."She said that she cannot thank everybody enough for all the cards, letters, and support they've shown her daughter.That includes the entire school district, from the administrative level, to the teachers, to the students, to the staff, she said."Everybody always tells you things happen for a reason," she said."This may have happened for a reason where it has brought the whole Palmerton area community together, as well as the Palmerton Area School District."Brong was joined by her son, Erik, a fifth-grade student, and 11th graders Liz Heffley, Brooke Hillegass and Kaitlyn Muffley, as well as Nicki Frank, who is serving as the family's spokeswoman.Frank read a card that was received from the Palmerton high school cafeteria workers that read "Emily, we cannot wait to see you back in the lunch line. We all miss your smiling face."Board President Tammy Recker told Brong, "We send our best to Emily all the time."Superintendent Scot Engler added, "It's no doubt where Emily gets her fight from."