Marina Alvarez and Lanice Delgado

[00:01] MARINA ALVAREZ: Hi, my name is Marina. I am 18 years old. Today is November 28, 2022. I am in San Antonio, Texas, and I am here with Lanice, and she is my coworker and friend.

[00:12] LANICE DELGADO: Hi, my name is Lanice. I'm 19 years old. Today's date is November 28, 2022. We are in San Antonio, Texas. The interview partner today with me is Marina, and she is my coworker and friend. So, Marina, how did you join this program, which is the reset program?

[00:31] MARINA ALVAREZ: So I had just graduated high school, like, that same month, and I heard about this program through one of my close friends, and she told me, basically, it's a training to be a community healthcare worker. And I had no clue what that was, and I was definitely not interested in it at all. And then I was like, you know what? I don't know what I want to do after high school, so I might as well just do it. I jumped into it, like, two weeks after, and I loved it. We basically, what a community healthcare worker is, is we help the community with their resources, and we give them all the resources they need with health, mental health screenings, if they just want to talk, vaccination clinics, and.

[01:32] LANICE DELGADO: Well, we go to vaccine clinics and we just do outreach. We give out flyers, say, hey, here's an event. If you're looking for vaccines, if you're looking for flu. We also had our back to school season where pop up clinics were going crazy with us. Right now, it's just three of us left in this program.

[01:51] MARINA ALVAREZ: So started off with 18 or how many?

[01:55] LANICE DELGADO: It went up to 24, I believe, at 1.24.

[01:58] MARINA ALVAREZ: Oh, yeah. It went up to 23. Oh, 23.

[02:00] LANICE DELGADO: Oh, you're the last one.

[02:01] MARINA ALVAREZ: I'm the last one, and I'm still here. But it has helped us a lot.

[02:09] LANICE DELGADO: I think it really grounded us.

[02:10] MARINA ALVAREZ: It definitely gave us, like, a type of income we didn't see coming straight after high school. I know I'm getting very successful off of it with my car, my new apartment.

[02:25] LANICE DELGADO: Yay.

[02:27] MARINA ALVAREZ: And then what about you?

[02:29] LANICE DELGADO: Well, I joined this program. I've been around the YWCA since I was a little, tiny baby. Started off in childcare, moved up to the teens. Now I work here.

[02:41] MARINA ALVAREZ: Now I work here.

[02:41] LANICE DELGADO: Now I work here. I also didn't know what a chw was. They were just like, my mom was just bugging me to apply, and I was like, okay. And then I started and I was still confused. It was just, like, training.

[02:55] MARINA ALVAREZ: It took a little while.

[02:56] LANICE DELGADO: Yeah.

[02:56] MARINA ALVAREZ: Especially, like, the way they trained us. They told us basically just threw us out there on the floor. We had to figure it out ourselves, but it's so fun, like, just interacting with the whole community and everything.

[03:09] LANICE DELGADO: Yeah. When we go to outreach, when we block walk.

[03:12] MARINA ALVAREZ: Oh, my gosh. One time, we went block walking, and I was terrified to walk in the neighborhood by myself with Lanice So I had pepper spray with me, making sure that I didn't need to use it. And then the dog started chasing us.

[03:29] LANICE DELGADO: Yes. All the way down the street.

[03:31] MARINA ALVAREZ: It wasn't chasing us.

[03:34] LANICE DELGADO: It wasn't. It just got out of the gate.

[03:36] MARINA ALVAREZ: We just got scared. Sorry.

[03:45] LANICE DELGADO: We're finishing this program in January. Right now.

[03:51] MARINA ALVAREZ: We're staying with the YWCA.

[03:53] LANICE DELGADO: Yeah. I mean, this program really gives you.

[03:55] MARINA ALVAREZ: Time to grow in the YWCA, with healthcare and everything. Now. I mean, Covid has slowed down, but now it's the flu, and we're learning a lot about the flu now. Before, it was a lot of COVID research, a lot of research we had to do to stay connected with everybody.

[04:15] LANICE DELGADO: A lot of checking all the updates, and, I mean, we came in kind of on the slope, but then there was, like, the high with the booster, the biting lit. We had to learn a lot about that. And then, I mean, we've gotten to work with a lot of the programs here at the y.

[04:30] MARINA ALVAREZ: We slowed down. Now we're doing more data, hands on CPR trainings, mental health trainings, emergency preparedness.

[04:39] LANICE DELGADO: Blood.

[04:40] MARINA ALVAREZ: What is it?

[04:41] LANICE DELGADO: Was it blood sugar?

[04:42] MARINA ALVAREZ: No, we did do blood pressure, but the one that we were gonna do. Which ones? Safe blood? No, not safe blood.

[04:51] LANICE DELGADO: Oh, the one that she was just.

[04:53] MARINA ALVAREZ: Yeah, the one we just talked about. I have no idea what it is.

[04:58] LANICE DELGADO: Beat something. Beep. Beat safe.

[05:00] MARINA ALVAREZ: Save the blood.

[05:01] LANICE DELGADO: Beat safe. I think. Beat the blood. What else have we done? I mean, we've done a lot of trainings. Got to partner with Joaquin.

[05:12] MARINA ALVAREZ: Joaquin Muerte.

[05:15] LANICE DELGADO: He's our awesome UT health confianza trainer, and really just, like, an awesome person to be around.

[05:23] MARINA ALVAREZ: Yeah. Personally, how did you connect with, like, the. Why? Like, as in personality wise? Like, was it fun?

[05:34] LANICE DELGADO: Yeah, definitely. I feel like, as a kid, I was super carefree. Now I'm like. Like, this is work. Like, this is where I have to be.

[05:43] MARINA ALVAREZ: It's a church.

[05:44] LANICE DELGADO: Yeah. Like, it's definitely a difficult thing sometimes.

[05:49] MARINA ALVAREZ: But trying to grow up.

[05:50] LANICE DELGADO: Yeah.

[05:51] MARINA ALVAREZ: Growing up is always so hard.

[05:53] LANICE DELGADO: And learning how to budget with our case managers, I feel like, straight after.

[06:00] MARINA ALVAREZ: High school, it was good. It helped us a lot. It helped us on the right path, especially knowing, like, we have so much we qualify for not qualify, but.

[06:10] LANICE DELGADO: Well, you've added tons more on your resumes.

[06:12] MARINA ALVAREZ: Yeah. Yeah.

[06:16] LANICE DELGADO: I'm super happy to see where we end up after this. Do you want to give me a little backstory on what's happening now in your life, or at best?

[06:28] MARINA ALVAREZ: So, I mean, in my life, personally, I am apartment hunting. Well, actually, I just got an apartment. So right now I'm looking for furniture, and I'm trying to train my dog, Athena, which isn't so easy because she is still a puppy and does not know anything. Training a dog is not easy at all. Do you have a dog?

[06:52] LANICE DELGADO: Yeah, I have my little. My little shih tzu. Logan.

[06:56] MARINA ALVAREZ: Shih tzu.

[06:58] LANICE DELGADO: He's a little crazy. And then I have my super good chihuahua. Emma.

[07:02] MARINA ALVAREZ: Emma. Emma. Hello, Emma.

[07:05] LANICE DELGADO: But, I mean, they're really my mom's dogs.

[07:09] MARINA ALVAREZ: My dog is a Dobermande, and she could not be a more playful dog.

[07:14] LANICE DELGADO: She's huge.

[07:14] MARINA ALVAREZ: This dog thinks that she is so little, and she's not little at all.

[07:19] LANICE DELGADO: When she lays on top of y'all.

[07:23] MARINA ALVAREZ: She thinks we're her bed. But besides that, I also have a cat. Lovely little scarlet, a little black cat. She is careless and only cares about me.

[07:35] LANICE DELGADO: Yeah, you're also her best.

[07:39] MARINA ALVAREZ: I am the source of resources for her when it comes to food and everything, so she has to love me. Speaking.

[07:49] LANICE DELGADO: Well, what else should we.

[07:58] MARINA ALVAREZ: What do you feel most grateful for in your life at the moment?

[08:02] LANICE DELGADO: I want to see my family. They've really pushed me towards everything that I've ever done in my life, and it's only led me to growing as a human, growing just as an adult, getting to go through everything, whether it was, like, the hardships that we had to go through together or really tough mental times, they always got me through it.

[08:27] MARINA ALVAREZ: What trait do you admire in yourself, and what trait do you think could change?

[08:35] LANICE DELGADO: I really admire that I can always smile and be, or at least try to be the happy person.

[08:42] MARINA ALVAREZ: Yeah, you definitely are a happy person.

[08:46] LANICE DELGADO: Something I would change. I think it's. How should I say? I'm not the most forgiving person. I think it's just trauma.

[08:56] MARINA ALVAREZ: Trauma. Okay. It's okay to have trauma.

[09:01] LANICE DELGADO: What is your proudest moment in your life?

[09:05] MARINA ALVAREZ: I feel like as of right now, well, actually, my proudest moment would have been, obviously, graduating high school, but I feel like I'm past that. And my proudest moment right now would be getting an apartment and finally being on my own. I'm not so much excited about living on my own. Cause, you know, I love living with my mom, and I would always miss her cooking.

[09:34] LANICE DELGADO: You know, you're still gonna be there.

[09:37] MARINA ALVAREZ: But I'm very excited to see, like, what's next of growing up, especially since I haven't even been out of high school for a year, and I've already grown to, and this job has helped me so much grow, because I would have never thought, oh, my God, I'm already getting an apartment this young and already, like, going on about my life. I would have. I don't. I don't. I had no plans after high school and definitely wouldn't think about moving out of my mom's until I was, like, 25. I want to live with my mom forever, but, you know, I guess that's what happens when I. Growing up. Yeah.

[10:20] LANICE DELGADO: I'm so proud of you. Just from when I've met you, which was literally when you started, you've grown so much.

[10:26] MARINA ALVAREZ: I know. I was a little kid. Like, no maturity level at all. And, yeah, you're working women. That wasn't going anywhere. Even when I started, I didn't think I would be here. I'm just like, oh, it's just a little program. It's not gonna help me. I'm just there to work. And, like, it has helped me so much. It helped me, like, just get wealthy for myself. I didn't think I was gonna have money after high school. I thought I was just gonna, oh, I'm gonna go to college, and I'm just gonna get a little side job. And that's definitely not what happened. I work here full time, and I'm hoping to just stay here.

[11:15] LANICE DELGADO: Well, there's always room to grow here. That's a pretty good thing. I mean, when I started here, I was a little. A little shy baby, and then you were super shy. Yeah.

[11:26] MARINA ALVAREZ: When we first started, we had. We didn't talk at all. No, we didn't start talking until, like, what, two months ago?

[11:35] LANICE DELGADO: Maybe like, September in September?

[11:36] MARINA ALVAREZ: Yeah, like, two months ago. And then out of nowhere, we got super, super close. We had no choice. We were always around each other. But, I mean, I feel like we've.

[11:50] LANICE DELGADO: Both of us came out of our shell.

[11:51] MARINA ALVAREZ: Yeah. Because when I first moved in, I was just like. I mean, not moved in when we first moved to the friend, I'm like, oh, my gosh, I'm gonna be next to Lanice Like, I have no idea who she is. I don't even know how to start a conversation with her. And then literally, like, it just clicked. Like, I don't even know it didn't click. We just, like, jumped into conversations. It wasn't anything awkward or anything.

[12:17] LANICE DELGADO: Yeah.

[12:24] MARINA ALVAREZ: What is your favorite memory with me so far?

[12:28] LANICE DELGADO: Oh, my God.

[12:31] MARINA ALVAREZ: I feel like in just about two months, we've done so much, and we only see each other at work.

[12:38] LANICE DELGADO: I'm gonna say probably a resource fair.

[12:43] MARINA ALVAREZ: Oh, my gosh.

[12:44] LANICE DELGADO: It was crazy. But, like, you stepped up.

[12:48] MARINA ALVAREZ: We were, like, running around shells that day. Yeah. We had no help at all but ourselves, and we ran that whole fair.

[12:56] LANICE DELGADO: We were running to the back directing traffic. You were running inside to the building directing traffic for vaccines.

[13:02] MARINA ALVAREZ: I was over here trying to get vaccines. I was like, no, I know what I'm doing. You're not gonna do anything. Yeah, we had no help. We're just two little teenage girls running around everywhere, hosting a whole fair by.

[13:15] LANICE DELGADO: Ourselves, in skirts, in the cold, in our boots. Yeah.

[13:19] MARINA ALVAREZ: In combat boots and little Doc Martens.

[13:24] LANICE DELGADO: That's probably my favorite. And yours.

[13:27] MARINA ALVAREZ: My favorite memory. When we were running errands at the stores.

[13:35] LANICE DELGADO: Oh, my God.

[13:35] MARINA ALVAREZ: I was like, can we please go to target? I want to go to target. And you and Giselle hated me for going straight to the dog section. Yeah.

[13:44] LANICE DELGADO: All the way to the back of the store.

[13:47] MARINA ALVAREZ: It was totally out of our way. But Lanice managed to let me go to target and shop for my dog, and I left in a little devil costume for her. It was around.

[13:59] LANICE DELGADO: You did buy that for her?

[14:00] MARINA ALVAREZ: Yeah, she hated it.

[14:01] LANICE DELGADO: She did not wear it.

[14:02] MARINA ALVAREZ: She only wear it for, like, a good five minutes. We took pictures, and she took it off. She was like, no, did not last long at all. So I just put a beanie on her. She kept the beanie on.

[14:13] LANICE DELGADO: It has little holes for her ears.

[14:14] MARINA ALVAREZ: No.

[14:15] LANICE DELGADO: Oh.

[14:16] MARINA ALVAREZ: Cause, like, her ears are sensitive.

[14:18] LANICE DELGADO: Oh, that's right.

[14:20] MARINA ALVAREZ: Yeah. Rip me. But the wind helped it this past weekend since it was super windy. She loved it. A little puffy jacket on and everything.

[14:31] LANICE DELGADO: Who do you think has made the biggest impact on your life?

[14:35] MARINA ALVAREZ: The big.

[14:37] LANICE DELGADO: The biggest impact on your life?

[14:39] MARINA ALVAREZ: What do I think has made the biggest impact on me?

[14:43] LANICE DELGADO: Who do you think?

[14:44] MARINA ALVAREZ: Who do you think has made the biggest impact on me? I feel like myself. Like, as selfish as that sounds, I'm the only one. I'm the only one that has made an impact on myself. I mean, obviously I had help from, like, family and friends and stuff, but I'm the only one that has switched everything up and made that change in my life. What about you?

[15:14] LANICE DELGADO: I want to say the biggest impact, it's either going to be my mom or my best friend, they constantly supporting each other.

[15:23] MARINA ALVAREZ: Why do you think that? Or, like, not why do you think that? But how do they help you?

[15:30] LANICE DELGADO: Well, I feel like my best friend, she's my best friend, and my sister, actually. They're both, like, very emotionally supporting and mentally supporting when I definitely have my moments of downs, and then my mom's always there to pick me back up. I mean, I'm with my mom almost every day.

[15:47] MARINA ALVAREZ: Every day.

[15:48] LANICE DELGADO: I mean, I live with her, but, like, every day.

[15:56] MARINA ALVAREZ: Is there something you feel has given you a purpose in your life so far, or you feel like you're still trying to look for it and find it?

[16:07] LANICE DELGADO: Yeah, I'm still trying to find it. Definitely want to go back to school.

[16:11] MARINA ALVAREZ: But do you know what you want to go to school for? No, but, you know, you want to do something else.

[16:17] LANICE DELGADO: Yeah.

[16:17] MARINA ALVAREZ: Yeah, that makes sense.

[16:18] LANICE DELGADO: And you?

[16:20] MARINA ALVAREZ: I don't know.

[16:23] LANICE DELGADO: Did you still want to go to school for sonography?

[16:25] MARINA ALVAREZ: I do want to go to school for sonography, but I feel like that has to be pushed back a little bit. I know that's what I want to do for sure, but I just don't know when yet. And I feel like when the time comes, I'm just going to fall right into it. How would you like to be remembered?

[16:48] LANICE DELGADO: Wow. I feel like, um, probably just as a bright and happy person. The little vitamin in the room.

[16:58] MARINA ALVAREZ: Yeah, definitely with your k pop music.

[17:01] LANICE DELGADO: Okay. And you.

[17:04] MARINA ALVAREZ: Lanice is always playing her k pop music.

[17:06] LANICE DELGADO: I do not. I play country, and I play the neighborhood for you.

[17:11] MARINA ALVAREZ: For me?

[17:11] LANICE DELGADO: For me?

[17:12] MARINA ALVAREZ: For you. Me too. But mostly for you and Taylor Swift.

[17:15] LANICE DELGADO: I love my Taylor Swift.

[17:18] MARINA ALVAREZ: How would I like to be remembered? I feel like I'm very outgoing, so I feel like I want to be remembered as just the life of the party.

[17:34] LANICE DELGADO: Yeah. It's very valuable.

[17:35] MARINA ALVAREZ: I am a very hyperactive person, and I'm always wanting to do stuff, and I feel like I just want people to remember me as, like, a fun person.

[17:46] LANICE DELGADO: Yeah.

[17:47] MARINA ALVAREZ: And I feel like me personally, I think I'm pretty funny.

[17:50] LANICE DELGADO: You're funny and you're fun.

[17:52] MARINA ALVAREZ: I never settle for boring, because boring is boring. If this was to be our last conversation, is there anything you'd want to say to me?

[18:07] LANICE DELGADO: I'm very proud of you and the person that you've become.

[18:10] MARINA ALVAREZ: Hold on, let me get my tissues. For real? We got so close. In a matter of, like, literally two weeks. Yeah. And then you left for vacation.

[18:20] LANICE DELGADO: I'm sorry. I needed that vacation girl you left.

[18:25] MARINA ALVAREZ: With COVID I did.

[18:27] LANICE DELGADO: You had Covid.

[18:29] MARINA ALVAREZ: It's true. Twice this year, guys. In the beginning and in the end, and I probably have the flu.

[18:39] LANICE DELGADO: That could definitely be it. Do you have a happy place?

[18:44] MARINA ALVAREZ: Do I have a happy place? Definitely. Yeah, I do. I feel like my happy place is at my mom's. All my animals are there. Sorry. All my animals are there. And every time I'm around, it's just, like, family oriented. And that's what I grew up around my family. Like, I go during the week just to eat dinner, which is, like, every day.

[19:13] LANICE DELGADO: Every day.

[19:15] MARINA ALVAREZ: And my family is always there eating my mom's food with me. Like, there's never not anybody at my mom's house. She's always cooking, and she's always so. The energy there is just always so, like, positive. Yeah, I guess so. Even though, you know, not everything is always so positive. I have to get after my little brother for going in my room and making a mess. But besides that, my mom cooks some good food, so everybody's just always so happy over some good food. And all my brothers and sisters are there, and it's just, like, always a good time when you're away from them for, like. I mean, I wouldn't say I'm away for them for a long time, though, because I'm there every day. But, you know, not living with them makes you miss them a little bit more. Yeah.

[20:07] LANICE DELGADO: And you've been out for. Been living without them for what?

[20:09] MARINA ALVAREZ: I've been living without them for a year. So, like, you know, when you live with them, you're gonna hate it. Not hate it, but you're definitely gonna have those disagreements more often than anything, to be honest. And now I feel like ever since I moved out, we have not had a disagreement in, like, I don't know how long we have a disagreement over. Go open the car door. I don't want to open the car door. You go over the car door, and before it's like, why are you taking my clothes? You should have asked me to take my clothes or, mom, why are you making me wash the dishes now? I would love to wash the dishes for my mom after her cooking a great dinner. My favorite dish that I like for her to make for me is bondigas. They're like meatballs, but she makes them. She doesn't make them in the soup. She makes them dry with tomato sauce on top. I don't know. It's just like a bondinga, but it's like an italian way. It's like her own little splash and I love it.

[21:20] LANICE DELGADO: She puts it with culture.

[21:21] MARINA ALVAREZ: Green beans and mashed potatoes.

[21:26] LANICE DELGADO: Have you experienced any miracles?

[21:29] MARINA ALVAREZ: Have I experienced any miracles? Hmm. I feel like not a miracle, but, like, a blessing, I guess. I got into a car accident at the beginning of the school year, and usually, like, you know, the whole insurance process takes months. It takes so long. But my mom was just pushing and pushing for right then and there. So, like, within a month, I got a new car, and everything was just good. I guess it wasn't a miracle, but it was more a blessing. I haven't experienced a miracle yet. What about you? Yeah.

[22:11] LANICE DELGADO: Maybe not a miracle, but also probably a blessing was just like. I feel like my best friend was put in my life for a reason, because I remember you telling me about the birthday thing.

[22:21] MARINA ALVAREZ: Yeah.

[22:21] LANICE DELGADO: So my best friend was born December 9, 2002.

[22:26] MARINA ALVAREZ: Mm hmm.

[22:26] LANICE DELGADO: And my grandpa had passed away December 9, 2003.

[22:29] MARINA ALVAREZ: Yeah.

[22:30] LANICE DELGADO: I feel like she was just fated to be somewhere there in my life.

[22:33] MARINA ALVAREZ: Like, that was just something that was, like, bound to. Not bound to happen, but, like, obligated to happen.

[22:39] LANICE DELGADO: And our signs match up, so we're, like, basically soulmates.

[22:43] MARINA ALVAREZ: I haven't found my soulmate yet. I would give. No, you know what? The closest soulmate I have is my cat. He was scarlet, my cat. I swear I got her when Covid had first started. So, you know, we weren't going to school. We were at home every day 24/7 we were just on lockdown. And you know what? I was like, I'm just gonna get a cat. You know what? I just saw her. Like, it was a little. I was working at Chick fil a at the time.

[23:19] LANICE DELGADO: Okay?

[23:20] MARINA ALVAREZ: And we have this, like, group. We had this group chat where all of our co workers were texting, like, hey, you pick up any shifts or whatever. So one of our leaders was like, I'm selling cats. I'm not selling cats. I'm giving away these cats. If any of y'all would like. And I was like, you know what? Why would I want a cat for? Like, I would have never in a million years thought of getting a cat. Like, that's just. That wasn't. I didn't like cats.

[23:45] LANICE DELGADO: Oh.

[23:46] MARINA ALVAREZ: And then I was looking through the pictures, and I saw this cute little. Cute little black cat, and I was like, I'm on my way. I'm on my way to go pick up the cat. And then as soon as I saw her, I was like, you know what her name is? Scarlett. Like, it was just, like, meant to be. I did not think about it at all. It was just, like, there. Like, it literally. Like, I. I still think about it to this day, and I'm like, where did I get the name Scarlett from? Like, that would have never crossed my mind. So, like, why did it cross my mind in that moment? Because it just doesn't make sense. And then, you know, when she first came home, she was all scared, and I was like, what am I doing with a cat? Like, this just does not make any sense to me. And then, like, a week flew by, and I'm like, this cat. What was I doing wrong in my life? Why didn't I have a cat? And now every time I go to visit my mom, she's there waiting for me up the stairs, meowing at me, which sounds like yelling. And I feel like I'm getting in trouble for being gone. She's just there. And then she just, like. I swear I could understand.

[24:57] LANICE DELGADO: She's like, how dare you leave me here?

[24:58] MARINA ALVAREZ: Yeah. She's like, why are you leaving me with these humans? I don't like none of them, which she doesn't. She only lets me be around her. And then when I'm there, she follows me like a lost little. But like a lost little puppy. And she just loves me.

[25:14] LANICE DELGADO: Well, that's good.

[25:16] MARINA ALVAREZ: My dog just. I'm chasing her. She's not chasing me. She knows she's spoiled. She knows this is what she's gonna get my cat.

[25:25] LANICE DELGADO: She said if I don't listen, I'll get it.

[25:28] MARINA ALVAREZ: She does. She does. Granted, I make her wait for her food in my hands, and she'll just pull it right out of my hand and just eat it. So training isn't going so good with that one. But my cat is very well trained. And, like, how do you even train a cat? I don't know. But she listened. She listens to everything. She knows her name. She knows when to come back home. I swear.

[25:54] LANICE DELGADO: I want to talk about how you were working in fast food in the middle of COVID How was that?

[26:01] MARINA ALVAREZ: When I was so. First of all, I was working at chick fil A. You know how that goes. You're working outside most of the time, majority of your shift. And especially during COVID right? Yeah, especially during COVID And it was. It was in March, so summer was coming up, so, you know, it was super hot. We had to wear these masks, and I hated it. It just didn't sit right on my face. It just wasn't what I wanted. It just. I didn't accept it. So having to wear these masks, I was just, like, why is this a thing? What is even happening? Like, no, Covid's not gonna get me. Like, there's no point in wearing these masks because Covid's not a thing. Like, I was so upset because it stopped me from going to school, playing sports and stuff, and I was just mad. So having to go to work with these masks just made it worse. And I was just like, you know what? Like, I don't want to wear these masks. They were like, well, if you don't wear these masks, then you're gone. Yeah, you're not gonna work. I'm like, oh, fine. Like, whatever. So I kind of just had to deal with it. But, like, after a while, like, obviously cases gone up and stuff, and I was like, oh, like, this is real. This is serious. I can't. I cannot not wear a mask. So I just, like I said, I dealt with it, and just seeing the cases go up and stuff, it was just. It was shocking because I was around it more than I thought. Like, at work, a lot of people were getting it, and I was just scared to get it. I was scared to bring that home to my family. So everything in me was like, stop working. Like, you don't need to work. I was 16 years old. I did not need to work. But, you know, I pushed through because I loved having my own income, and it was just scary because it was just getting so close to home. And, you know, eventually it did hit home, and it wasn't a good outcome. It was super sad. Like, with my family, we did have somebody pass away very close to us as that, and I did not. Luckily, when that happened, we took a leave off of work because they were remodeling, so they did a reconstruction. But if that were to been my fault, like, for getting Covid just because I didn't want to wear a mask, I wouldn't know how to deal with that. Yeah, that would have just been like, you know, that would have been my fault. Yeah, because I was a 16 year old that was not mature enough to wear a mask.

[28:41] LANICE DELGADO: Yeah.

[28:42] MARINA ALVAREZ: And I guess it was just like a little wake up call. So when I did go back to work, girl, that sanitizer was going on my hands every 5 seconds. I was wearing gloves. I did not want to touch any type of money. I was like, you know what? Give me three masks so I could wear on this shit. There was no way any. I was touching any type of customer, any type of money when I would touch any type of money or a card. Sanitizer. Sanitizer. Sanitizer. I would have these little Kleenex wipes to just wipe the card while I'm swiping it. Like, I was at that point, I was just a germaphobe, and it was just so bad. So then I was just. It just got overwhelming. I didn't. It was just. Chick fil a was a fun job. Like, it definitely was a fun job.

[29:28] LANICE DELGADO: But in the height of COVID it really.

[29:32] MARINA ALVAREZ: Yeah, Covid really messed everything up. Not. No, it messed everything up. It messed everything up.

[29:39] LANICE DELGADO: Do you think that going through Covid and do you think that it's made you sympathize with the community around here?

[29:45] MARINA ALVAREZ: Oh, definitely. Like, it has made me more helpful to the community because I have been through it before. I have had it twice. The. Was it. There's two or three strains.

[29:57] LANICE DELGADO: Yeah, you've had three.

[29:59] MARINA ALVAREZ: I've had both of the strains.

[30:01] LANICE DELGADO: I think you've had original. Did you have the original one?

[30:03] MARINA ALVAREZ: Yeah, the original one.

[30:04] LANICE DELGADO: And there was Omicron.

[30:05] MARINA ALVAREZ: Yeah, and then there was the.

[30:09] LANICE DELGADO: I can't remember the name, but that other one.

[30:11] MARINA ALVAREZ: No, I think the one for the first one and then the second one. But having both of those, those were, like, two different symptoms. Like, it wasn't the same as people said that they were because I feel like I. I handled it differently, like, me personally. But when people ask me questions about it with this job, it's like I already know what to tell them because I have been through it before. So when they're asking me for this advice, there's no hesitation to tell them what happened or what's gonna happen or what's the, you know. And, like, when people tell me, like, they lost their family members from it, and I'm like, yeah. Like, I've been. I've been through the same. I don't know what you're going through because we all handle it differently, but definitely know the feeling, like.

[30:57] LANICE DELGADO: Yeah. Of, like, you know, that I know.

[31:00] MARINA ALVAREZ: How to help them. I know what had. What made me better. I don't necessarily know how to help somebody because everything. Everybody handles it differently. Yeah, but, you know, that little bit of advice, help somebody, it helps them more than you know.

[31:15] LANICE DELGADO: Yeah.

[31:16] MARINA ALVAREZ: And that's the thing about this job. Like, you don't know how much you make an impact on somebody when explaining to them certain things. Like, when it's just a simple, I work with mammograms, so when they ask me, hey, where are the free mammograms at? And I'm like, oh, like, here are the resources for it. And you don't know, like, it could help them with their health or whether it's just, like, something in the back of their heads, like, they don't have that. What do you call it? They don't have that help or that help and that thing in the back of their mind. I don't know.

[31:58] LANICE DELGADO: I think it's really good that the YWCA has so many different things to offer. I mean, we offer health. Our entire health equity is based off of women's mammograms, and I think it's been extended to men's as well. Yeah, we have our senior connection program.

[32:14] MARINA ALVAREZ: With the Zumba classes as well, the Vintonia this year. We have a lot of resources at the Y with the daycares.

[32:23] LANICE DELGADO: Yeah, we have our childcare. We go through EHS or regular after school as well. After school, in house and outhouse, and.

[32:31] MARINA ALVAREZ: Then the vaccine clinics as well.

[32:34] LANICE DELGADO: We have our awesome youth department.

[32:36] MARINA ALVAREZ: We have a lot of resources. So we're always working with the community, and, you know, it's fun getting out there and doing hands on work. It's not always office work. It's actually doing stuff and getting out there and promoting all of our services. Yeah. And people, you know, people look everywhere for those resources, and they don't realize, like, we're right here in front of them.

[32:59] LANICE DELGADO: Yeah.

[33:00] MARINA ALVAREZ: Trying to give them that, and, you.

[33:01] LANICE DELGADO: Know, it's kind of just like a blind spot for people.

[33:04] MARINA ALVAREZ: Yeah. So when they do have that help, you know, everybody's gonna be grateful of health services and that extra support when it comes to that stuff.

[33:13] LANICE DELGADO: And then we also have, like, I mean, all the programs pretty much try to help each other out when it comes to promoting events or just in general, like, their programs, it comes out.

[33:25] MARINA ALVAREZ: I feel like overall, like, even if we're the ones helping the community, it has helped us with everything. Like, there is nothing that this company hasn't done that hasn't helped us.

[33:41] LANICE DELGADO: Yeah, exactly. I think that us also putting out. I mean, this program has helped launch all the other girls that were before us into success.

[33:52] MARINA ALVAREZ: Yeah.

[33:53] LANICE DELGADO: Working at the health collaborative, working at.

[33:55] MARINA ALVAREZ: The clinic, you know, it has definitely helped us get out of our comfort zone. Nobody would have thought, hey, what are these little 18 year olds doing working?

[34:05] LANICE DELGADO: We're sitting at a table, and they're looking at us like.

[34:08] MARINA ALVAREZ: Like, girls, what are they doing here? But, you know, at the end of the day, when they come, when they actually hear us and know what we're talking about, they're just like, oh, like, okay, yeah, y'all can help us. Y'all got some resources y'all could help us with? Yes.

[34:23] LANICE DELGADO: And then when we network with all these other groups and sometimes we don't provide these services, we're like, hey, but.

[34:29] MARINA ALVAREZ: We'Re awesome with, but we also have this. We have this program or like we.

[34:33] LANICE DELGADO: Can'T provide you the services but we're gonna send you this place. They're awesome with their services.

[34:37] MARINA ALVAREZ: Yeah.

[34:38] LANICE DELGADO: Like, I really like that we've gotten to make those connections between multiple and.

[34:44] MARINA ALVAREZ: That has helped us build friendships and just, you know, a lot of stuff. Like I said earlier, we would have never have thought to do this program at all. You know, it just benefits, benefits everybody, benefits us. It benefits the community with resources and, you know, can't be any more thankful for that.

[35:12] LANICE DELGADO: Bye, everyone. Y'all have a wonderful day.

[35:14] MARINA ALVAREZ: Bye. Thank you for tuning in. It.