5-yr-old immigrant was feeling ‘lost’ until teacher's selfless act changed her life — she went on to graduate from Harvard Law
Some teachers manage to change the course of a student's life. Whether through kindness or extra effort. So when a woman immigrated to America as a 5-year-old and couldn't speak a word of English, a teacher worked tirelessly to help her. The woman, Ana Reyes, eventually graduated from Harvard Law School and had done some impressive volunteer work when she decided to find her teacher four decades later. Reyes didn't remember her teacher's name, but left no stone unturned to see her, per The Washington Post.
Reyes was struggling in class as a first-grader because she couldn't speak English. "I remember feeling lost," the then 46-year-old recounted. Her family had moved to Louisville because of her dad's civil engineering job back in 1979. The woman didn't know what to do at that time until her teacher offered to take one-on-one lessons with her in the morning, an hour before school began. "That was life-changing. To this day, I don't know how far behind I would have been if no one had done that." Things changed quickly for Reyes, who graduated from Harvard Law School, started working as an attorney at Williams & Connolly, where she became the co-head of the international disputes practice group. She was also awarded the Woman Lawyer of the Year by the D.C. Women’s Bar Association in 2017.
She represented refugee organizations on a pro bono basis in multiple cases, per the outlet. She wanted to thank her teacher, but couldn't remember her name. In October 2020, she saw a friend's first-grade daughter read full sentences in English from a children's book and because of the memories from her own time as a first-grader, she became determined to find her teacher. "I don't have kids, so I never realized how far behind I really was and could have remained. It's always been in the back of my mind that someone spent their mornings helping me. But in that moment, it really hit me." She reached out to people on Facebook and one of her friends knew Jason Glass, the commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Education.
She wrote an email to Glass and explained that she was looking for her first-grade teacher from the school year 1980-81 at Wilder Elementary in Louisville. "I would very much love to say thank you and my life very likely wouldn’t have been possible without you." The department was able to figure out that the woman was Pat Harkleroad, who had been an educator for over three decades. Harkleroad received a call from the department and was quite surprised. "I was floored. For someone to remember you after 40 years is just phenomenal." Harkleroad added, "When I heard Ana’s name, I recognized it. I remembered her." She remembered Reyes as a student with many great qualities.
Toni Konz Tatman, the chief communications officer at the Kentucky Department of Education, arranged for the two women to meet in November 2020 and Reyes flew from D.C. to Kentucky. Harkleroad gave her student a big hug after she knocked on her door. "I was overcome with emotion. I'm not a hugger. Not only did I hug her back, but I held on for a while and said, 'Thank you for everything,'" Reyes recounted. "You have no idea how good this made me feel. Other people have given me praise, and I appreciate that, but nothing has been as great as what this has been for me. It has been so meaningful," Harkleroad expressed. Reyes shared that she had tried to pay Harkleroad's kindness forward through her work and felt immensely grateful for the chance to thank her.