When Hailey Reichelt ’28 stepped onto the mat during the 2026 World Union of Karate-Do Federations World Championship in Romania, she wasn’t just fighting for a title. She was fighting to believe in herself. It was the moment she had been waiting for since placing second twice on the world stage. Now, she’s a world champion in her division. “I was in complete disbelief and still am, but it is an incredible feeling,” Hailey says.
Hailey’s journey with the martial art began long before she came to Valparaiso University. She was just eight years old when she started taking lessons at Homann Karate Do in neighboring Crown Point, Indiana. “…The senseis were able to convince [my parents] that if I stayed with the program, they ‘would be able to make me a champion,’” she remembers. “They were able to see potential in me when I had no idea what competing in karate looked like, or even what it would be like becoming a black belt.” From there, her love for the sport only grew. She would sometimes train for three to four hours a day, five days a week. “It truly was just my life,” she says.
When Hailey began entering competitions, her career soared. She climbed from local champion to regional, state, district, and eventually national champion in both USA Karate and AAU USA Karate. She then added two Vice World Championship finishes, a European Cup medal, a U.S. Open medal, and a South African National Championship to her trophy case. From afar, it’s easy to see Hailey exactly where she is now: on top of the world. There’s much more to the story. “I faced so many challenges – from back-to-back injuries, doubt from coaches and friends, and self-doubt, to wondering how I would ever balance everything I was doing,” she admits. “I found myself even wondering how I was able to make it so far.”
One of Hailey’s most recent trials occurred just weeks before her world championship victory. She went from bringing home four gold medals from South Africa in April to competing in a national championship in July – while sick. This time, due to circumstances beyond her control, the gold medal went to her opponent. For Hailey, it was a devastating result. “At first, I was in shock, then angry and discouraged. I really was debating taking a break from representing the team,” she says. As painful as the loss felt at the time, it was the beginning of a learning experience that she would carry with her forever.
When the world championship did arrive, it did so with a discouraging start. “I lost my first match in open weight at the world championship. My first match of the tournament. It hit me hard,” Hailey says. It took a long conversation with her coach, Coach Ocampo, to bring her back. She had a choice: to let that first loss define the rest of the tournament, or to change how she showed up for her remaining three divisions. She chose the latter — and credits learning to finally believe in herself, the way her coach and teammates already did, as a major personal turning point. “I had to trust myself, and when I finally did, I became world champion,” she says. Tears were shed, hugs were given, a new perspective was born. “Through all my losses, wins, challenges, and learning in the sport, I’ve noticed a difference from when I’m completely doubting myself to when I have the most faith in myself, knowing I can achieve anything. What you think can come true. Even in any aspect of life, having that confident and resilient mindset could get you anywhere. … I was and am so incredibly grateful for those who were right there who helped me realize it. While this hasn’t been my only challenge in the journey, it definitely has been the most memorable and rewarding one.”
Hailey is candid about the pressure of elite competition – especially as a full-time student, where the support she’s received here at Valpo comes into play. She remembers how the campus appeared to her during her college search: bright, welcoming, and supportive. “What stood out to me about the College of Business is the motto ‘Do well by doing good,’” Hailey says. Before she came to know the motto as a student, she experienced it: advisors, professors, and staff who helped schedule her first semester, supported her with classwork, and encouraged her and her classmates to serve and grow.
This rang especially true when Hailey was declaring her major. She began with a major in management but, after learning more about herself during her college journey, later decided to specialize in human resources management. “I genuinely want to be someone who, in the workplace I choose, employees feel welcome to come to me to better the workplace environment and ensure it is up to the standard it needs to be for the whole of the company,” she explains. She was able to personalize her education with minors in sports management and project management – setting her up for a promising career in several sectors of business. (Opening up her own karate dojo or becoming a sports manager for AAU karate is definitely up on her “dream job” list!)
So far, Hailey’s experience in the program has been exceptional. She’s learned from professors with real-world experience and discovered just how hands-on the field can be in her introductory business class with Lecturer in Management Karl Madsen, MBA. “As my first class in the College of Business, it showed me that learning is more than reading from a book, but rather going out and pursuing opportunities, getting involved, and continuously being willing to hear from many people’s experiences in the workforce. From that class on, I saw how different the program was from other big schools. … Every professor has helped shape my academic career in some way – especially my advisor Brett Calland, ’08 M.A., and Dean Matt Luth, Ph.D., who are always there checking on me and my progress, as well as every [College of Business] student, too!”
Between excelling in the classroom, serving as vice president of pledge education for Delta Sigma Pi, and thriving as the chapter president of Valpo’s Gamma Phi Beta sorority, this support is essential. “Dean Luth, as well as most of my professors, have worked with me to help keep up with my academics,” Hailey says. “I’m proud of myself for being able to balance my position in [Delta Sigma Pi] and [Gamma Phi Beta] while also keeping up with my [studies], being involved on campus, working and training at my dojo, and also traveling and competing for the teams I am on.”
Her advice to student-athletes who face the same challenge: lean on your team, learn from as many people as you can, and always check-in with yourself. “I had a very difficult time slowing down or taking time for myself while trying to throw myself full force into everything I am involved in,” she reflects. The smiles people see on social media don’t always reflect what’s happening underneath — the self-doubt, the burnout, the moments she’s had to learn to speak up rather than push through in silence. “Sometimes, I care so much for other people and checking in on them, that I end up losing my own wellness. It really caused me to be so physically and mentally burned out at some points. So, this advice is also for me too. …It’s okay to show more emotions than all the happy, winning moments. Because that is not all that life is. … It is most important to realize this, especially when people are looking up to you, too.”
Looking ahead, Hailey is ready to continue competing and reclaim her national title. She plans to pursue coaching, from camp seminars to pre-competition clinics, with a particular focus on supporting young women in a male-dominated sport. Wherever her path leads after graduation, she’s excited to discover all that awaits.
Follow Hailey’s footsteps in the Valparaiso University College of Business and learn about resources that are available to support Valpo students in all of their endeavors at valpo.edu/student-life/health-wellness.
