Sisiam “Sisi” Roda Reyes and husband Raul Reyes were not high school sweethearts.
“I don’t think she liked me very much in high school. I was kind of annoying,” Raul said with a grin.
The two knew each other at Falls Church High School, but ran in different circles. They maybe had a few friends that overlapped in some of those circles and one or two classes together during their four years in high school.
“I thought he was annoying,” Sisi confirmed with a laugh.
Despite this, the two ended up dating and later marrying – and credit their time in Fairfax County Public Schools as one of the reasons they ended up together.
“We didn’t live near each other; she lived in Falls Church and I lived in the Fairfax area. If it wasn’t for FCPS and going to high school together we might never have met,” Raul explained. “I mean, maybe we could have, but I don’t think we would have.”
At the end of their senior year in 2012, they became more aware of each other because their last names started with the same letter, which placed them near each other at graduation practices and senior breakfast.
“During graduation practice, we started to notice each other. We were close to each other due to our names in the seating arrangement,” Raul recalled. “I talked to her more than ever during the last two weeks of high school than I ever did during high school.”
Then one day, not long after graduation, Raul was driving around and noticed Sisi waiting at a bus stop. He decided to reach out to her and see what she was up to.
“We were more ‘frenemies’ in high school,” he said. “Then I convinced her to hang out with me one day.”
That began a multiple-year texting and phone call exchange, but never any in-person interactions.
“He was a really comfortable person to vent to. He wasn’t involved in my day-to-day life so it was easy to reach out when something was going on,” Sisi said. “He was my go-to person.”
Raul on the other hand had fallen pretty hard for Sisi, and said during their conversations he dropped several hints that he was attracted to her.
“I made it very obvious. I knew I was in the ‘friend zone,’ and kept trying to push it. I think that might be the reason we held off for so long. She wanted to make me wait,” he said.
Raul decided to arrange an in-person lunch meetup in 2015 to see if the feelings were mutual.
During that lunch meetup – which both agree wasn’t a date, but rather an ice breaker – they decided to go on an official date over Memorial Day weekend.
“On that date, I was like, ‘I do like him,’” Sisi recalled, and said there was one moment that sealed that feeling for her: She was walking down some stairs at the National Building Museum when she tripped. Raul was quick to stop her from falling.
That moment was the catalyst for a stolen kiss under a flower arch at the United States Botanical Garden later that day.
“I felt like it sealed the deal. I definitely felt more confident at that moment in the garden, that if I were to kiss her, I wouldn’t get rejected,” Raul said.
They married in 2017.
“Something in me said ‘Don’t lose the opportunity,’” Raul said about his decision to marry Sisi. “I felt like once I had made up my mind, I wanted to see it through and I didn’t want to postpone it.”
During their eight years of marriage, the two have found their path in life.
Raul became a plumber and works for Fairfax County as a plumbing technician, and now as a Facilities Asset Management Tech.
They shared their love of FCPS by praising many teachers in their lives.
“I genuinely loved staying after school, just to be around my teachers,” Sisi said, adding that she would often tutor other students after school.
Sisi credits her teachers with making her feel comfortable when she moved to the county at the end of her sixth-grade year.
Raul admits he wasn’t as studious as Sisi, but said he liked his teachers, especially Ms. Amin, who encouraged him to always be the best person he could be.
“Even though I wasn’t the best student, my teachers were always very compassionate, and the ones I interacted with definitely cared about their students,” Raul said.
As FCPS alumni, both Sisi and Raul love the opportunity to give back to current and future students. They particularly like the idea of giving back to students who pursuing careers in trade.
“I’m passionate about the trades. I’ve been there and I think when I was in high school I knew pursuing a college degree wasn’t for me and I’m glad I found this path,” Raul said. “I think more kids need to be aware of pathways other than just college or white-collar jobs.”
Raul said, as a county employee, he sees a strong partnership between the school division and county government.
“The job opportunities in the county are plenty. We are creating a cycle; we have students being supported in the schools by the county, then some of those students come work for the county and support the school system,” he said.
“Donating to support current FCPS students to be successful is a huge benefit. We might have felt like we didn’t know all that was available to us when we were in school, but now we do and we can support kids to help them get the resources they need. Even if its $5 or $10,” Sisi said.
Educate Fairfax, is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit that works to make a positive difference in the lives of FCPS students. This month, we are teaming up with alumni to spread love to our schools, and asking for donations to directly support each school.
We are also collecting and sharing alumni love stories, and how FCPS has helped shape your life.
To learn more about Educate Fairfax, visit educatefairfax.org
To join the FCPS Alumni group sponsored by Educate Fairfax, go to https://fcpsalumni.nationbuilder.com/