Omar Jesus (O.J.) Garcia

Tara Valencia Kelley

OJ was a great friend to so many people. He was absolutely amazing. OJ was my honorary little brother in Kappa Kappa Psi. He loved to sing, and serenaded people all the time. OJ was always taking on one more project, and managed to be very involved in the lives of many, many people. He was killed in a car accident on December 19, 2002 when he fell asleep at the wheel while driving to San Antonio to meet the Texas Tech marching band to travel to the Tangerine Bowl in Florida.

Tara Kelley, my fellow Russophile and horn player, was a quiet sort of person, rather reserved. She had a great, quirky sense of humor, and it really hurts now that she's gone, because we shared so many inside jokes... now I just smile and think of Tara whenever I see a duck, or a pompadour hairdo. Tara was never one to discuss her personal problems or concerns, so it was kind of a surprise when she lost a battle with cancer on August 13, 2003. Tara is the person who got me interested in Russian language and culture because her enthusiasm was contagious. At her urging, I chose Russian as my foreign language to study, and loved it so much I changed my major to Russian.