Early student council mornings, late volleyball nights, and hardworking school days. This is what Student Body President Haylee Au endures, and more.
Haylee, a senior, is heavily involved in Cougar life. She’s the captain of the girls’ volleyball team, student body president, National Honors Society member, and she plays tennis. In her freshman year, she was only involved in volleyball because she didn’t want to add too much to her plate, but since sophomore year, she got the ball rolling by joining other clubs, saying, “I wished I was involved a little bit more freshman year, but also things were harder freshman year because of COVID, and then also I’m kind of glad I didn’t because I was able to get all of my credits in.” It worked out in her favor, and she’s thriving now during her senior year.
Haylee went into high school with the same friend group but was nervous about joining extracurriculars like volleyball because none of her friends played it. Luckily for Haylee, she’s made good friends on the team and the relationships are one of her favorite parts about the sport, along with traveling with the team. She said, “A lot of my good friends on the volleyball team, I never would have pictured myself being friends with them if it weren’t for volleyball.”
For her senior season, she thinks, “…out of all of the seasons that I’ve played here at Sahuaro volleyball I think it’s definitely been one of the best.” Haylee has been playing on varsity since her sophomore year, and before that, she was on JV. This year, she was chosen to be a captain, alongside Natalyn Howell and Sirena Flowers. She feels that “All of the hard work has finally paid off. It’s just nice to know that that’s how my coach sees me, and he has that trust in me.”
Coach Haynes said, “Haylee exemplifies our team value ‘Team Before Me’. She goes out of her way to make sure that everyone feels welcome and leads both on and off the court. She has been called upon to play several different positions and never once has she complained. She always has an incredible attitude and always gives her best.” Haylee plays as a defensive specialist but will play whatever she’s asked to.
Since her junior year, Haylee has donned the number 2, which she wears to honor her brother, a basketball player, who passed away during her sophomore year. She said, “It means a lot to me. It was my brother’s number.” In tennis, Haylee has been ranked at 4 at Sahuaro, and this year she hopes to play at 2. Again, to honor her brother, but also because she’s, “Going to hold those expectations high up there for myself.”
Haylee is looking forward to graduation and tennis season. She’s also excited for her senior nights, but she’s going to be sad. She said, “Being on varsity since sophomore year, I’ve kind of always been a part of senior night, but this is MY night where it’s about us, and it’s about the seniors, and I’m really excited.”
This year she’s the student body president. Previously, she has been the junior class president and sophomore class treasurer, although this year, the pressure and drama has been taxing. “We do a lot for the school, but it just feels like we don’t get appreciated enough.” She’s not looking for sympathy, but she stressed that it can be hard to connect with the student body at times because it’s difficult to get ideas approved by admin. Her days are also long depending on what events are happening. For example, on the day of Homecoming, she was here from 7:45 AM and didn’t get home till around midnight. She loves the class and knows that “There are times where it gets hard, I know this is cheesy, but I just have to remember that this is my last year in high school and I have to have as much fun as I can. Especially because all of my friends are going different ways for college, so that’s kind of scary and sad too.”
Looking back on her high school career, she said that Mr. Bohland has helped her a lot academically, Mrs. Trujillo is someone she can always go to, and Mrs. Watters has been a strong inspiration for her. When Mrs. Watters left Sahuaro last year for health reasons, it was hard for Haylee, but she still keeps in touch with her. Evie Quintana, who can be found in the activities office, has also been someone she can trust. Evie was originally Haylee’s volleyball coach when she played club volleyball, and she said, “We’ve kinda grown this bond where she’s kind of like an older sister to me, and so it’s nice to have her here because I know that I could talk to her about anything and she’d be there for me.”
After high school, Haylee will leave Tucson for college because she wants a fresh start. She’s like to become an orthodontist, but if that doesn’t work out, she wants to open a business with her mom. It’s an idea they’ve just recently started talking about, but they would want to open a coffee shop or nail salon.
Haylee said, “Remember that a lot of people are going through different things, so you should never judge them. You never know what they’re going through.”
She also said to subscribe to her YouTube channel: haylee thuy-vi au – YouTube
