Hailey

HAILEY GARCIA REYES

Aug. 31, 1994 -

May 28, 2018

HAILEY GARCIA REYES was a passionate and driven young woman who proved that anything can be accomplished when you put your mind to it. Early on in life, Hailey was found to have dyslexia, which most would see as a factor of limitation. Hailey did not view it this way though, and, rather, she used it as motivation to overcome and excel in her work throughout her life.

HIGH SCHOOL

In high school, Hailey kept excellent grades allowing her to graduate in the top 10 percent of her class at Madison High School. She did this while successfully competing as a student-athlete. Although she was small, weighing in less than 100 pounds, Hailey quickly showed she was a force to be reckoned with athletically. She made the Madison varsity soccer team as a freshman and immediately apprehended and sustained significant playing time all four years, making strong contributions to the program. She also contributed to Madison’s varsity cross-country and track programs for four years, competing at the highest level against talented athletes throughout the 5A division. She had a strong impact on the cross-country team, which resulted in her appointment of team captain her junior and senior year. Outside of school, Hailey was a committed club-soccer player, who never missed practices or games and pushed her team to better themselves through her positive attitude and strong fitness. She sustained a job throughout high school and eventually felt empowered to work in the early childhood department at Community Bible Church in order to spread her faith and make a difference in the lives of children. Throughout all this, she was still able to kindle strong relationships with her family and friends.

OUR LADY OF THE LAKE UNIVERSITY

Hailey’s academic and athletic proficiency allowed her to not only secure the role of a student-athlete at a highly distinguished college, but acquire Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) academic and athletic scholarships, as well as outside scholarships, that covered nearly all collegiate expenses. Hailey’s compassion and drive to make a difference in the world led her to pursue a degree in psychology, rooted in her desire to help kids who struggled with adverse circumstances or disabilities. Hailey was committed to daily soccer practices, games and travel, making a large impact on the OLLU soccer program. She did all of this while keeping a nearly perfect GPA in her classes and exceling to supervisor of the early childhood department at Community Bible Church. Hailey and the OLLU soccer program had excellent success in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), qualifying for the Red River Athletics Conference championship tournament every year and clinching the conference championship in 2014. Hailey played soccer three years at OLLU, and she excelled as a conference scholar athlete all three years. She decided to focus on her studies her last year to successfully graduate a semester early. Hailey graduated at OLLU with summa cum laude honors with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology/pre-counseling and a minor in social welfare and social justice in the winter of 2015. Hailey quickly moved on to her next goal of specializing in school psychology.

TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY

Hailey’s strong GRE scores and excellent GPA at OLLU, as well as her service to others, resulted in her acceptance into the Texas State University Graduate Program in school psychology shortly after her graduation from OLLU. She continued to prove her excellence at Texas State, eventually achieving an internship, as a licensed specialist in school psychology for the selective program at Comal Independent School District. Hailey worked with young students to identify learning disabilities and other adverse circumstances through psychological testing. Hailey reported on her students based on the testing she carried out to ensure each student received proper guidance and aid in their disabilities or adversities. Although she had just started her role within the year, Hailey showed great influence on the youngsters she worked with each day. She immediately made an impact on the children by encouraging them to reach their full potential rather than allowing them to feel limited by any adversity they faced.

SOCIAL JUSTICE

Outside of her time at school and work, Hailey was a strong advocate for justice. She was passionate about equal opportunity when it came to women’s rights, racism, immigration reform and education. She endorsed the eradication of violence through the enactment of stricter gun laws. She promoted women’s abilities to earn equal wages, achieve statuses of merit in their careers and have a strong voice in political affairs. She believed in the dissipation of racism and the establishment of accessibility in citizenship for immigrants in the United States. In addition, Hailey felt education played a life-changing role for individuals and accommodations for higher education should not be stunted based on monetary limitations or biases. Hailey also was strongly devoted to increasing safety through stricter gun laws, and she specifically supported psychological testing in order to obtain firearms. She emphasized the need for in-depth processes of qualification to ensure deadly weapons were not placed in the wrong hands. Hailey’s role went beyond solely discussing her beliefs on these issues through her attendance of protests and political appeals. Hailey fully immersed herself in acts of reformation to be a force for igniting change.

PASSION AND DRIVE

Hailey’s passion and drive in all her work truly spoke to her character. She never did anything half-heartedly in work, school, sports, religion, activism and, most importantly, in her relationships with family and friends. Those who were close to her knew of her loyal and genuine nature, always putting the needs of others before her own. Hailey loved hard, taking an active role in the lives of her family and friends. She established a foundation of reliability for all those who knew her, and she would never hesitate to drop everything if her family or friends needed her. She constantly radiated positivity and was a light of hope for all those who were blessed to know her. Although she did not get to carry out all she had planned in life, Hailey left a strong legacy that will persevere for years to come.

Watch a video photo collage of Hailey throughout her time at OLLU.

LIFE TRIBUTE for Hailey Garcia Reyes

Hailey Michelle Garcia Reyes passed away on Monday, May 28, 2018, at the age of 23. Hailey and her father, Michael Garcia, were involved in a terrible tragedy on May 12, 2018.

Hailey is preceded in death by her father, Michael Garcia. She is survived by her husband, Lee Reyes, her mother, Lisa Michele Garcia and her sister, Addison Marie Garcia. She also leaves behind her uncle Paul Garcia.

Born in San Antonio, Texas, on Aug. 31, 1994, Hailey and her little sister, Addison grew up in San Antonio. Surrounded by a small family and friends, Hailey's upbringing valued hard work ethic as a way of life. Some of Hailey's fondest memories as a child were spent with her mother, father, sister and uncle, Paul. They enjoyed spending time outdoors participating in a wide variety of activities. Michael was always present at all her extra-curriculum activities – she was “daddy's little girl.”

Hailey attended Fox Run Elementary School from 1999-2005. She was in the fourth grade, when she was tested and diagnosed with dyslexia. The school wanted to hold her back but Hailey did not see her condition as a disability and excelled throughout her school years. Hailey attended Driscoll Middle school from 2005-2006, then Harris middle school from 2006-2008. During her middle school years, she played basketball and was on the track team, running the 800m and the mile. She also participated in club soccer.

She attended James Madison High School from 2008-2012, where she graduated summa cum laude in June 2012. There she lettered in each of the three sports she played each of her four years, lettering 12 times. Hailey was the most decorated athlete in her grade, when she graduated.

While Hailey was a freshman in high school in 2010, she met her husband, Lee Reyes. Lee was a senior at the time, and they started dating in early January 2012.

She went to Our Lady of the Lake University from 2012-2015 and graduated early, Dec. 31, 2015. Hailey graduated with honors and was on the Dean's List for multiple semesters.

Hailey always knew what she wanted out of life. On May 10, 2015, after a few years of dating and after making sure Lee was the "one," Hailey accepted Lee's engagement proposal. It took Hailey 12 months to plan her wedding.

In January 2016, Hailey began her graduate program in school psychology at Texas State University in San Marcos. At just 21 years old, Hailey was chasing her next dream to become a licensed specialist in school psychology so that she could help children of every background to be treated equally and have the best experience possible in school. While in the program, Hailey was passionate about helping others and was an advocate for children and families from every walk of life especially those who were ethnic and cultural minorities. She also was passionate in fighting for women’s rights and empowering others to see their own self-worth. Hailey was determined to be a positive light in this world, and she was making sure she had an avenue to do so.

While in the school psychology program at Texas State, Hailey worked as a graduate assistant for Dr. Paul Jantz, aiding in research and other duties related to his courses. Hailey completed her practicum during the program in several San Antonio school districts. She was carrying a 3.8 GPA as a Licensed Specialist in School Psychology (LSSP) graduate practicum student. She worked with the Texas State University Clinic; the Clinic for Autism Research, Evaluation and Support (CARES) Clinic in San Marcos; and the North East Independent School District (NEISD) and the San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD) completing observations, evaluations, interviews and assessments with children, special needs students and the autism population.

Hailey reached another milestone when she married the love of her life, her sweetheart, Lee Reyes. The wedding took place at Paniolo Ranch Bed and Breakfast in Borne, Texas, on Dec. 18, 2016. The wedding venue and the wedding itself were breathtaking. They lived very happily with their three dogs, Miley, Duncan and Achillies in a three bedroom cozy home. They loved to travel, watch movies and spend time with their families and friends. They had future plans to travel the world before starting a family. They loved each other deeply and they seized every moment. Hailey and Lee were married a year and five months, and they were together a total of six years, when she passed away.

Hailey applied and was hired at Comal Independent School District (CISD) as an LSSP Intern in January 2018. She had one semester remaining of being supervised in the CISD as an intern, and she was planning to graduate in December 2018 with a specialist degree in school psychology.

Hailey Garcia Reyes (1994-2018)

lived her life with passion and drive, proving daily that anything was possible. After being diagnosed at an early age with dyslexia, she used the diagnosis as a motivation to overcome and excel throughout her life - AND SHE DID!

We hope you find it in your heart to help her alma mater, Our Lady of the Lake University, fund her scholarship. It is our wish to award this scholarship to future deserving students, who strive to overcome their obstacles to excel in all of their endeavors, just like Hailey did.

We thank you for doing this in Hailey’s memory.

An endowed scholarship of $25,000 would ensure that her memory will remain in perpetuity at OLLU. To contribute, text hailey to 71777, and you will receive a text with a link to donate to the scholarship fund, or CLICK HERE!