Not all heroes and she-roes wear a cape, do they?

Boy, you would say Juanita Alcéna does!
Juanita is a HOL mag Alumni, a friend, and my former fashion professor. She has taught at Miami Dade, The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, and American Intercontinental University in Florida, where she also served as Department Chair for three years. Juanita is now teaching fashion design & technology at Westchester Community College in NY. When Juanita came down to south Florida to visit during a short break, it was unfortunately right at the cusp of the COVID19 pandemic shut down.

She had to teach virtually from home once school restarted in NY. Virtual teaching can be challenging, but Juanita handled the change like a trooper. With the upload of demos and video tutorials, she applied herself, and soon, the virtual world became second nature. Now, how did she find time to create all those masks that you see at the featured thumbnail? Right across from where she lives, there is a local grocery store called Publix. She lived in that area for over 25 years and was very familiar with the management there. While school was going virtually during the day, she was on her sewing machine at night, doing close to 25 masks per night! When asked if she would sell those masks, she replied with a firm “No! I am donating those from my heart!”

“No! (I will not sell these masks) I am donating [them] from my heart!”

Juanita Alcéna

Right across from where she lives, there is a local grocery store called Publix. She lived in that area for over 25 years and was very familiar with the management there. While school was going virtually during the day, she was on her sewing machine at night, doing close to 25 masks per night! When asked if she would sell those masks, she replied with a firm “No! I am donating those from my heart!”
125+ masks later, Juanita walked right across the streets to deliver the masks to the employees with a hand wrote thank you note. The managers were flabbergasted! One of them read the note aloud, and all were chocked yet happy to receive free masks from her. While no one knew what was happening, Juanita has been making a huge difference in her community.

Do you someone you’d like for us to know about? Any she-roes in your community? Leave us a comment or share their stories with us in the comment sections.
I can tell you, I am one lucky person because I know Juanita Alcéna, and I am sure she is not the only one changing others’ lives.