“Winona State is less and a public one, but it’s more than two hours away.” “I like Augsburg (College in Minneapolis) it’s close, but it’s really expensive,” she told me. Reyes knows even the least-inexpensive is financially out of reach for her parents. The annual tuition ranges from more than $40,000 to about $17,000, including room and board. But the family doesn’t have the means for her to attend any. She has been accepted to seven area colleges and universities.
She’s graduating in June and hopes to pursue a career as a genetic counselor. She got involved with ALMAS, a high school academic and community-outreach program designed for Latino students. She learned to write and do everything with her left hand. Her youngest brother, Inocente, attends Heritage Middle School.Īnd Gladys kept her eyes on the prize of the value of education and looking forward, not back, amid tragedy. Gladys’ older brother, Jose, attends Inver Hills Community College.
GLADYS REYES DRIVER
The financial and emotional woes made what happened to the hit-and-run driver - who served a year in prison before he was deported to his native El Salvador - seem almost inconsequential, though the family wanted more prison time.Īlthough finances are still a struggle, things are a bit better. An adjustable-rate mortgage that shot up the monthly payment by $300 did not help, either. Mounting medical bills with no health insurance, as well their need to alternate and take indefinite time off to tend to their daughter, took a heavy financial toll.
GLADYS REYES MANUAL
Four years ago, her parents, Jose and Maria, both manual laborers, were forced into foreclosure on their home and had to move into a rental duplex. She rode a fire truck in the city’s annual parade and festival when she was well enough to do so later that year.īut everyday life continued for Reyes’ family, and it wasn’t all good. The community responded with several fundraisers and donations, including $240 raised by Joseph Rascher, then a student at a Catholic grammar school who asked well-wishers at his 8th birthday party to give to Gladys rather than buy gifts for him. She underwent more than 20 surgeries and months of rehabilitation. Reyes lost her right arm from below the shoulder and her left leg was mangled and badly scraped in the incident.
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