‘Ambassador Of Goodwill’ To Retire From Public Safety After 28 Years At Wolfson Campus

Two weeks after fleeing the Dominican Republic and an abusive marriage, Elena Alvarez was stuck.

Defeated and jobless, she was forced to live with her brother. The atmosphere was less than ideal.

Fortunately, she was offered a job at Wolfson Campus as a night custodian. 

“It was a miracle,” Alvarez said. 

That fortuitous opportunity turned into a career calling.

Five years later, Alvarez took a job at the campus as a security guard patrolling the 1000 building. On Jan. 31, the 68-year-old is retiring from Miami Dade College after almost three decades.

“I always call her the ambassador of goodwill,” said Maria Friedopfer, a public safety officer at Wolfson Campus. “She is always [the] first to welcome the staff, students and guests of the school. We’ve had the privilege to work with her and she will be missed.”

As a security guard, her duties are simple: patrol the campus grounds, open doors for faculty and staff and file reports, but she has done it with a highly personalized style. She learns campus mainstays first names, waters plants and assists disabled students on their daily voyages to class.  

“Her personality is one of joy,” said Alvarez’s son, John Sanchez. “She is a very positive woman who always keeps her head up. What makes her special is her ability to treat a stranger with the same respect and care that she would treat her family. She is dedicated to others.”

However, her job hasn’t always been a safe one. She was once attacked by a homeless man after she woke him up and told him he had to leave the property.

But Alvarez’s courage has not gone unrecognized. In 2001, she won the best security guard of the year award.

“Elena’s happiness is so contagious to those around her,” said Mildred Arrieta, a custodian at Wolfson Campus. “She does her job with love, honesty and a lot of responsibility.” 

Abusive Childhood

Her rough upbringing in the Dominican Republic helped her become more empathetic toward others. 

When Alvarez was six months old, her mother gave her to another family because she was unable to take care of her.

Alvarez says that the family forced her to do all of the chores and take care of the other children in the house. They didn’t allow her to go to school and physically abused her. 

“I still have the scars and cuts,” Alvarez said. “My childhood was cruel and very ugly.”

In 1965, the Dominican Civil War took place. During the nearly five months of fighting, bullets were sprayed into Alvarez’s home regularly. 

When she was 13, she was reunited with her mother. Their neighbor, a teacher, helped her get into second grade because she was illiterate. 

“I say it was God’s work to give me an opportunity to leave that house,” Alvarez said. “After that, my life slowly started changing. I was going to school. I was able to play like a normal little girl. I didn’t know what a doll was growing up.”

Eventually, she finished high school. She got married in 1986 but she left him in November of 1992 because she said he was abusive. She then fled to the United States with her four-year-old after selling some of her clothes for $100.

In 1995, Alvarez joined Working Solutions, a program that used to exist at the College to help displaced homemakers. They provided her a therapist. 

“I thank God for never filling myself up with hate,” Alvarez said. “Seeking and getting the help I needed has let me help other people going through what I went through. People cannot let themselves get defeated, they need to talk to someone who listens and understands them.” 

In retirement, Alvarez wants to become computer literate and continue working as a salesperson for Forever Living, a sustainable health lifestyle company.

But, she said, she will miss the College. 

“MDC is my second family,” Alvarez said. “It has given me a second chance, support and value.”