It is incredulous how one’s name can perfectly encapsulate the person, and in Yeye’s case, his name held a prophecy that foreshadowed who he would be in life: a happy, loving, and compassionate person. Yeye was born Fedyst Fomeche on November 20, 1991, the eldest child of two young educators. As improbable as his birth was, it seemed almost by faith that he would be born to this specific couple, and so they would affectionately come to call him Yeye, a reference to his exuberant and jovial personality.
The stage was set for the type of person Fedyst would be, and so much of his work ethic, discipline, and even sense of fashion would be set in his foundational years. Under the stringent and demanding guidance of the nuns and priest at his first alma mater, Regina Pacis College, where Fedyst would come to learn the value of hard work and discipline, and gained a sense of pride in who he was and how he portrayed himself. Although he would joke about the post-traumatic stress he experienced from being at a boarding school, and away from home for so long, there was an ironic paradox in the way he always recounted his experiences; betterment through hardship; friendship through struggle. Small and fragile as he was, Fedyst refused to succumb to the harshness that comes with living in Africa. Through multiple bouts of malaria and other illnesses, he remained resilient and he became more compassionate, especially when his family came to the United States.
With mosquitoes out of the way, and the promise of a vastly different future to the one he had been born into, Fedyst flourished in Arizona. Hitting his growth spurt in time to finish high school, his early years at Mountain View High School would be some of his favorite, and most defining moments. During these years, he would develop confidence that would lead to varied interests in sports, fashion, and entertainment. Through most of high school, he would participate in both Arizona youth soccer and school soccer. While his level of success varied from team to team, it was always evident just how much he enjoyed himself; encapsulated by the wide smile he would flash his family from across the field. With that same smile, Fedyst’s interests shifted to entertainment. Never one to be late to a trend, and as YouTube began to rise in popularity, you could often find him making videos on music, dancing, and comedy, with the hope that in his silliness, he would be able to make his friends and family laugh more. This trendiness defined Fedyst; a zest for life, and insatiable desire to spread joy. These unique character traits persisted into university and beyond.
At the University of Arizona, he gravitated towards psychology, fascinated by the motivations and invisible forces that shaped the human condition. Fedyst was fundamentally a social person, and whenever this interest in people intersected with school, that's where he shined. He loved giving presentations. More specifically, he loved dressing up for presentations. In high school and throughout college, it was easy to determine when Fedyst had a presentation, for he'd be the only one dressed in a manner that could get him confused with the teacher. He took a lot of pride in his appearance, and this swagger became an essential part of his brand. He would later use this swagger, coupled with his experience modeling in college, to amass a vast social media following and presence; one that persisted through the rest of his life.
Following his graduation with a BA in Psychology in 2013, Fedyst would choose to rededicate himself to his studies, spending chunks of his days taking classes at various campuses of Maricopa Community College District, vigorously studying at the library, and excelling in one medical prerequisite course after another. By sheer will and commitment, he reinvented himself as an astounding student and academic, easily securing acceptance to the University of Arizona Pharmacy Program in 2017. While excited for this promising path he was on, a relentless entrepreneurial spirit began to develop and strengthen beneath the surface of his consciousness. This became a force that would slowly engulf him, and opened his mind to the endless possibilities of this world, and filled his heart with a sense of joy and adventure that can only be experienced by those with a fully realized self-awareness and understanding of who they are and what their purpose is. He had an intuition for trends, and an eye for the value in things misjudged as dispensable. These skills were the foundation on which he sought to establish himself as an entrepreneur. With only a dream, an idea, and a stubborn dedication to remain true to himself, he would veer off his final year of his pharmacy program to fully take the plunge into the world of technology and app building. He chose to bet on himself and without a doubt that he was going to emerge victorious. As expected, the two applications he was building, intended to facilitate processes in the worlds of travel and commerce, were in their final stages of review and in the beginning stages of securing investors and sponsors.
Although his professional aspirations changed, one thing that remained consistent throughout his life was his undying devotion to his family and friends. He embodied a positive energy that effortlessly radiated from him, and touched the lives of all he came into contact with. It was an energy that everyone wanted to be a part of, to experience, and to revel in. He was someone who was always true and genuine. From the conversations he had, to the experiences he shared, and the laughs he created, he infected all he cared about with an assurance that they were special for just having been a part of it. Although there was never enough of him to go around, he somehow found a way to make time for everybody, blessing them with a bit of his electric smile, timely humor, wisdom, and unparalleled humility. He lived life to the fullest degree. He never took the opportunity for a good time for granted, and he inspired others to have that same zeal for life. He could be in Phoenix one weekend, California the next, and Las Vegas not too long from then, doing so without a single ounce of regret or hesitation. To him, life was meant to be lived, and if one wasn’t living it happily and joyfully, then existence itself would be a fruitless endeavor. Music was his refuge. He was always listening to and discovering new songs, not paying particular attention to genre, but rather focused on the vibrations and rhythms. No matter what setting you found him in, you knew that inevitably he would break out into song and dance, as he moved to the rhythm of his own beat.
It is impossible to imbue words with the essence of a person. On one hand, Fedyst could be described as kind, loving, compassionate, and easily forgiving. On the other, he could be described as a former Taco Bell and Walgreens employee, a model, a dancer/comedian, a pharmacy tech, and an entrepreneur. He was a brother of five, favorite cousin to many, and a friend to hundreds. A thousand words to describe somebody, and yet they all fall short of the real deal. So, we will settle with a feeling: he left you feeling understood, feeling loved, and generally better for having known him.
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