Today I was greeted with the wonderful smile of Haylye, a former student of mine, whom I failed. In high school, I saw what was happening to Haylye by some coaches and some administrators and tried to find a path for her where she would be treated equitably and with decency. It did not happen. I remember seeing the tears of Haylye and her mother when we realized that she would not triumph in this battle. Years later, this sad memory is still in my brain. For some reason I remember the times when I could not help my students too well.
As I mentioned, I saw tears in Haylye's eyes, I did not see her cry, she is too strong for that and also too kind and too selfless. At times, she encouraged me to help others because they needed me and she would be okay. Haylye's quiet smile has to bring joy to all her family and friends who love her. It is in this smile, that you can also see her strength. Haylye is one of a significant group of Nerinx students that I taught who was never mean or unkind to anyone. I asked her about that this morning and she just kind of said, "Why?" Why would she use any of her minutes in a day being unkind to another person. And then she smiled. Look to the right and look at the kindness and the warmth of her smile.
THIS IS NOT A SAD STORY. Because of Haylye. She found the path that was not closed off to her and excelled. She found her own path and would not be stopped. Just recently she was name the Assistant Coach of Saint Louis University Women's Soccer Team. I hope somehow her Head Coach reads this, because she might be one of the smartest women on the planet. To give Haylye this job at the ripe age of 23, is an incredibly decision showing amazing foresight. Haylye is a tremendous athlete and understands how to succeed in soccer, how to score, how to be a great teammate, and how to live your life with kindness and smile. It was obvious to me in just an hour of conversation this morning that adult Haylye is an even better version of high school Haylye... and high school Haylye was a great kid.
I have attended all kinds of sports to support my students in many different venues. I have never gone to a sporting event to watch an Assistant Coach. But I can guarantee you I will be at Hermann stadium this fall to see a young coach work. I will be watching very closely as I am sure Haylye can teach me a little bit about how to be a better coach.
The news of Haylye being named to her coaching position was posted on her Facebook. Of course, many friends and families expressed Congratulations to her. Those red letters stood out. Haylye could have made a comment at the end of all of the well wishes thanking them, but this is Haylye, if you are friends on Facebook you got to see it. Haylye replied to almost every comment, I stopped counting when I got to forty. I believe that is how she will coach -- to understand that each young woman has something special and different and to treat each one like the star they are. Father Leonsyo, in a small village in Uganda, demonstrated to me how to love each person as their own person. Somehow Haylye already knew how to do that. How lucky I am that I get to call both of them friends.
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