Alicia

I met Alicia in graduate school and we quickly bonded over a shared interest in social justice and capital punishment. Since then, Alicia has been such a fixture in my life and in Austin. She was the one who helped me get a position at Hospice Austin and then put up with me for a year and a half complaining until I got on full-time. Alicia is a good friend to many, and I am grateful for the friendship we  have developed over the years.

I remember when I started at Hospice Austin and Alicia was taking me out on visits while I trained. I knew that she was a good social worker, but when I saw her in action, I was really blown away. I just remember thinking about how present she was and how her compassion came through in the way she interacted with every person. A couple years ago, it was announced that she had been awarded "Social Worker of the Year" for Hospice in New Mexico and Texas. I was sooo happy, I cried. She was so deserving and I felt so happy that she was being recognized, especially early in her career, for really being one of the best.

For the last couple of years, Alicia has been in a long-distance relationship with her Brazilian beau. Their story is one that you usually only see in the movies: a summer romance in Spain during college, followed by nearly 10 years of separation and then a reunion, an international LD relationship followed by a series of set-backs due to immigration issues...and finally an engagement and a move to Canada! In less than one month these two will be married in Austin. I am so thankful that their story has a happy ending(/new beginning to come). They both deserve so much happiness and good fortune in their lives. This winter the two moved to Vancouver and so the loss of Alicia in Austin is felt deeply by her friends. I am thankful, though, that Alicia has become a pen-pal of sorts. We exchange emails often and stay in touch, which I am very thankful for.