Trevino holds up her "Future Roadrunner" sign in front of her flood damaged home, days after Hurricane Harvey hit in 2017.
(Aug. 27, 2018) -- UTSA freshman Kaylee Trevino has been through more in her life than most 18-year-olds. In 2016, over Memorial Day Weekend, rains caused her home to flood.
“We were lucky then, only three feet,” recalls Trevino, a Conroe, Texas native.
But that was enough to ruin everything the family owned. Family members and friends helped the teen’s family get back on its feet. They washed flooded clothes, pulled and replaced sheet rock and helped make repairs to the damaged home, which was inhabitable for five months.
Then, a year later, by the time the Trevinos had made their house a home, the devastation hit again. The family was forced to leave their home a second time. Hurricane Harvey was barreling toward the Houston area.
“Our entire house was submerged. The water was four feet above our roof,” Trevino recalled. “The roof caved in, but the mailbox was still standing.”
Once the water receded, Trevino received some life changing news in that mailbox.
“I got my acceptance letter from UTSA!”
Excited to capture the moment in a picture, Trevino faced a dilemma.
“Where do I take my picture? There’s no house,” she said.
The high school senior proudly stood outside her damaged home, smiling with her “Future Roadrunner” sign.
Trevino’s journey to become a Roadrunner began the summer before Harvey when she came to San Antonio to visit UTSA.
“I fell in love the moment I saw campus,” Trevino said. “UTSA offers the degree plan I was looking for, has strong traditions and so many great ways to get involved.”
Prior to applying to UTSA, Trevino faced other storms. When she was 11 years old, she was bitten by a Copperhead snake.
“It was terrifying,” Trevino said. “The doctors told me I could lose fingers or my hand.”
After weeks in the hospital, several surgeries and countless doses of anti-venom, Trevino returned home but the health concerns lingered. She developed Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome, which causes chronic pain in the legs and arms.
“People would bump into me and it would send my body into shock,” she said. “Kids at schools didn’t understand because they couldn’t see the pain I was going through.”
The snake bite also impacted her ligaments and blood circulation.
Following years of surgeries, she’s found a treatment that works for her and has been pain-free for almost three years.
Through it all, Trevino has kept a positive outlook and is now looking forward to her experiences at UTSA.
“I know that no matter what, the problems I’m having aren’t going to be here forever. I know I’ll always have a place to stay and a home to go to,” Trevino said.
The first-generation student, a public health major, now calls UTSA her home. She’s living on campus and is looking forward to joining a sorority, attending Roadrunner football games and, as a huge Harry Potter fan, joining the UTSA Quidditch Club.
“I’m so ready to start this chapter of my life and soak in everything it means to be a Roadrunner.”
Connect with Kaylee Trevino on Twitter at @Kattrevino or on Instagram at Kayleeade116.
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