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Change & life events
Andrew Garcia
RN charge nurse | Mountaineer
Andrew Garcia has learned there’s only so much you can control.
“You can’t control the weather. You can’t control other variables that can affect the hike, but you can control yourself,” Andrew said. “Your knowledge, your safety equipment, the stuff you bring just in case an emergency happens.”
It’s a lesson shaped on the side of a mountain—and one that shows up far beyond it.
As an RN charge nurse, Air Force flight nurse, husband, dad, trail runner and mountaineer, Andrew is used to balancing a lot at once and adapting when plans change.
His love of the outdoors started with a backpacking trip to Colorado. What began as a way to spend more time outside quickly grew into a passion for climbing.
“I just really enjoyed being outdoors and being in this peaceful environment where you’re away from technology,” Andrew said. “It was kind of an escape from reality.”
Since then, he’s climbed more than 15 mountains above 14,000 feet and summited Mount Rainier, with Denali still on his list.
For Andrew, being prepared also means knowing he and his family have support when they need it.
When one of his daughters was in and out of the hospital, Andrew used the MyBSWHealth app to keep up with lab results, appointments and updates from her care team. “I would get notifications through the app and easily go in there and look at her lab results and see what was going on,” he said.
He and his wife have also used a Dependent Care FSA to help with childcare expenses, while parental leave through the short-term leave program gave Andrew time at home after the births of both daughters.
For Andrew, even benefits he hopes he never needs fit into the same philosophy he takes with him on a climb.
“I always like to plan for the worst,” he said. “Having that assurance that if something were to happen is always kind of a weight off your shoulders.”
Now, Andrew is preparing for another challenge: an ultra trail race this November. And farther down the road, he hopes to take on Denali.
His advice for anyone thinking about trying something new?
“You’re going to fail every now and then,” Andrew said. “Just keep pushing and keep trying.”
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Tierra Poole-Davis
Operations manager | Roller skater
Between work, marriage and life with four children, Tierra Poole Davis rarely has a shortage of things competing for her attention. But when the Baylor Scott & White operations manager laces up her roller skates, the noise fades away.
“When I skate, it takes my mind off everything else going on,” Tierra said. “I listen to the music and get in the zone. It’s like being free, even if I’m just going around the rink in circles.”
Tierra began roller skating in middle school, first as something fun to do with friends. Her interest grew when her stepdad introduced her to a whole new side of skating.
“He could do all these different tricks, and I thought it was so cool,” she said. “He taught me how to skate backward, and we started going together. It became our thing.”
After her stepdad passed away, skating became even more meaningful.
“Skating is more special to me now because it’s something we shared,” Tierra said. “I don’t think I’ll ever get to the level he was, but that doesn’t mean I’ll stop trying.”
Today, Tierra is passing that love of movement on to her children. Her three oldest have skates, but family activity doesn’t always mean a trip to the rink. Sometimes it’s jumping on the trampoline, playing soccer outside or simply finding a way to bring the kids into something she already enjoys.
Like many parents, Tierra admits she sometimes wonders whether she’s doing enough.
“Sometimes I feel guilty that maybe I don’t play with them enough or read with them enough,” she said. “But I can take something I love and get them involved. They’re excited that Mom is outside playing with them, and we’re all spending that time together.”
Managing life with four kids also means keeping track of a lot of healthcare details. For Tierra, MyBSWHealth helps keep them within reach.
She uses Family Account Management in the app to schedule appointments, message providers, complete virtual visits, manage bills and access her family’s health records.
“Having everything at your fingertips is so helpful,” she said. “When you’re enrolling the kids in school and need their shot records, you can pull them up instead of calling and waiting for someone to fax them.”
For Tierra, living well doesn’t have to mean finding more hours in the day. Sometimes, it means making room for what you love in the life you already have.
“Whatever your passion is, make it your own and go for it,” she said. “If you have a busy life with children, find a way to incorporate that passion into family time. You get to do something you love, and they get to be part of it.”
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Carlos Reyes
Nursing supervisor | Soccer player
Carlos Reyes has spent most of his life moving. A lifelong soccer player who competed in college, the Baylor University Medical Center nursing supervisor still plays regularly and is now training for his first marathon.
But these days, his motivation has less to do with athletic performance and more to do with the two young daughters waiting for him at home.
"Health is more about longevity now," Carlos said. "It's not focused on an aesthetic build. It's about being healthy and available for my daughters, running around and keeping up with them."
That mindset influences everything from how he spends his time to the example he hopes to set for his family. Carlos wants his daughters to grow up understanding the value of staying active, building healthy habits—and learning that they can do hard things.
Between working nights, raising two young children and training for a marathon, balance isn’t always easy. For Carlos, it means taking care of his family and work responsibilities while still setting aside “just a little bit of time for dad.”
For someone who had always been active, a torn ACL changed the equation.
Recovery challenged Carlos physically and mentally—and gave him a firsthand look at the value of benefits he never expected to need.
"I wish I didn't have to go through it, but you get knocked down and you get back up," Carlos said.
During his recovery, Carlos used accidental injury insurance and short-term leave, while the Employees 1st Emergency Assistance Fund helped ease some of the financial strain on his family. The experience also reinforced the importance of planning for the unexpected.
"I'd rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it," he said.
Today, Carlos continues building healthy habits not for trophies, rankings or finish lines, but for the moments he hopes are still ahead.
“My dream is to be able to keep up with my girls,” Carlos said. “If they’re interested in soccer, I’d love to train with them, be on the same team and give them a little bit of my expertise.”
And for Carlos, playing the long game means looking even further ahead.
“I want to be around to see their kids and their grandkids,” he said. “I want to be as healthy as possible so I can be around for as long as possible.”
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Heather Svitak
Nurse manager | Flag football player
Heather Svitak had watched plenty of football. Playing it was another story.
The Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Temple nurse manager never played sports growing up and didn’t exactly consider herself an athlete. So when her husband, Chris, and teenage son, Emerson, encouraged her to join their flag football league, she needed some convincing.
"I was thinking, 'I can't catch a ball. I don't know how to play football,'” said Heather. “But I really wanted to be more active and focus on my health and wellness, so I decided to give it a chance."
Before her first game, Heather even looked up football terms to make sense of the plays. Then the opposing team arrived with walk-on music and a boombox.
But Heather played—a lot more than she expected—and left the field feeling better than she imagined.
What started as a way to get moving soon became something the family could share. Heather has found herself snapping the ball to Chris at quarterback, who then throws to Emerson.
“It was really neat to have a whole play that was just our family,” she said.
Heather also hopes her kids are learning something from watching Mom be the beginner for once.
“I think it’s important for them to see that it’s okay to be bad at something as long as you’re having a good time,” Heather said. “You can grow and learn … just take the chance.”
Keeping an active family moving takes plenty of coordination off the field, too. With three children, MyBSWHealth helps take some of the remembering off Heather’s plate.
She uses Family Account Management in the app to track annual physicals, immunizations and other preventive care.
“I don’t have to do the math anymore or try to remember when everyone was last seen,” she said. “Those reminders help me stay on track.”
Virtual Visits have also come in handy when plans go sideways. One weekend, Chris was traveling when a stomach virus started making its way through the kids. Rather than loading everyone up for an in-person visit, Heather connected with a provider virtually, and medication was prescribed and delivered.
“We couldn’t leave the house—it was bad for everyone,” Heather said. “We were all just able to stay home, and it was super helpful.”
For Heather, that kind of flexibility matters. It creates a little more room for what matters most—time with her family and space to do something simply because it’s fun.
Her advice for anyone who’s hesitant to try something new?
“Just give it a go,” Heather said. “I would have never imagined I’d be doing this. Win or lose, we’ve had a good time as a family.”
“Find the fun.”