Houston schools memorialize Vanessa Guillen on her 21st birthday

ByCharly Edsitty KABC logo
Wednesday, September 30, 2020
HISD celebrates 'Vanessa Guillen's Day' across campuses
HAPPY BIRTHDAY VANESSA: Here's a look at the tribute HISD put together to honor the murdered soldier on what would have been her 21st birthday.

HOUSTON -- Houston Independent School District is honoring murdered Fort Hood Army Specialist Vanessa Guillen with "Vanessa Guillen's Day."

Wednesday, Sept. 30, would have been Vanessa's 21st birthday.

The memory of Vanessa is all over Houston, with several memorials currently up across the city, especially in the East End where she grew up and attended HISD's Cesar Chavez High School.

Her family is inviting the public to join in on celebrating her birthday and has a list of events planned.

RELATED: Nancy Pelosi agrees to bring #IAmVanessaGuillen act to house floor

Vanessa Guillen's legacy enters Capitol Hill in the form of a bipartisan bill aimed at reforming sexual assault in the military. The video breaks down what has gone into getting to this point.

Starting at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, there will be a virtual run and walk for Vanessa.

At 4 p.m., the family is inviting the public to safely come out to Forest Park Lawndale Funeral Home for a series of events. The funeral home was where Vanessa was laid to rest.

A homily will begin at 4 p.m. and then, there will be a dove release at 4:30 p.m.

A mariachi band will perform at 5:45 p.m., followed by a butterfly release at 6:30 p.m. and then an honor cake-cutting at 6:50 p.m.

In a video shared by the school district, Vanessa's mother and sister visited Cesar Chavez High School ahead of her birthday and shared some pretty emotional memories about when Vanessa was a student, which was not that long ago.