Seeds of change

For Eddy Reyes, the seed of an idea grew his career in ways he never expected.

Born and raised in Nicaragua, Reyes came to the U.S. in 1953 to attend Loyola University of Los Angeles. After college, he became a successful designer in Denver’s advertising scene. When Reyes got a job working on Denver Dry Goods’ first fashion catalog in the early 1970s, he knew the perfect photographer: Gus King.

Only, there was no Gus King. With the alias — his middle name, Gustavo, and the English translation of his last name — Reyes stepped into a new career as a photographer.

When digital photography gained traction in the early ’90s, Reyes dissolved Reyes Studio Inc. Nearly 60 years old, he wandered his studio “lost and confused,” said his late wife, Arlen Marie Selu, a longtime special education teacher in Denver Public Schools.

“One day, she said she thought I would make a great teacher,” he recalled. “It planted a seed.”

The father of five registered at Metropolitan State University of Denver, where his daughter was earning a degree. Selu, who retired to attend graduate school, and Reyes sold their house, moved into the former studio and spent four years as students.

“I was the oldest student in my classes and enjoyed every moment,” he said. “Being at MSU Denver was a rich, happy and stimulating experience.”

After earning an Elementary Education degree in 1997, Reyes taught fourth and fifth grade with DPS for 18 years, primarily at Place Bridge Academy, a school that continues to serve immigrant children.

Following his retirement at 80, two encounters inspired Reyes to establish the Arlen M. Selu Special Education Memorial Endowment — the first scholarship at MSU Denver for Special Education students.

First was a serendipitous reunion with a former student who expressed gratitude for how he had changed her life. Then, Reyes learned of a friend’s experience founding a scholarship at MSU Denver in honor of her late husband. “I wanted to do the same for Arlen,” he said.

Reyes hopes the scholarship plants seeds for the next generation of Special Education teachers.

“My wish is that they realize the profound difference they will make in their students’ lives,” he said.

INSPIRED BY HIS LATE WIFE AND A LATE-IN-LIFE CAREER CHANGE, ALUMNUS EDDY REYES TRANSFORMS LIVES THROUGH EDUCATION. SUPPORT THE SCHOLARSHIP

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