Baby Rodriguez, child nutritionist and cafeteria worker:

Growing up, Baby Rodriguez’s favorite memory was with her family. Whether they were talking with each other or enjoying each other’s comfort, to Rodriguez, family is number one. 

Rodriguez started working as the child nutritionist and cafeteria worker at Hebron in October 2022. 

“[I decided to start working at Hebron] because I love kids,” Rodriguez said. “[My favorite memory at the cafe] is just seeing everyone smile.”

Rodriguez used to work in apartment leasing, but said she is content in working at Hebron now. Not only is Rodriguez happy to work at the cafe, but many students are grateful for her service.

“I really appreciate the time and effort the cafe staff [puts in] for us,” senior Anna Dinh says.  “My first time coming here, [Rodriguez] took my order [and] was very friendly and welcoming. When I had questions about the menu items, she was patient answering them [and] it warms my heart that she really cares for us.” 

Rodriguez said she enjoys seeing students smile during lunch because it reminds her of her own child. 

“I do a lot of things with my daughter, [such as] school work and homework together,” Rodriguez said.“[My child is] definitely [my most cherished person]. I believe that once a kid comes into your life, it totally changes for the better, so seeing [students] smile [makes me] think about [my] kid.”

Alicia Jones, assistant manager of the cafeteria and overseer of the Java Cafe:

Originally from Atlanta, Alicia Jones moved to Texas due to her husband’s job. Jones said she considers Texas her second home from Atlanta, but enjoys her new job.

“I’ve been at Hebron [main campus] since August [2022,] and before [that], I was the manager of Hebron’s 9th grade campus,” Jones said.  “I opened the 9th grade campus and [managed] there for 12 years — I’m one of the original people there.” 

Due to her three children who all graduated from Hebron, Jones decided to work at Hebron because she wanted to be on her children’s schedule.

“Originally, [I] was a part-time worker at Arbor Creek [Middle School],” Jones said. “[I decided to go into this career] because it was convenient to be an at-home mom and be on their schedule and get out of the house as well. The cafeteria helped me with having some time to work and then be at home with my kids.” 

During the summer that Jones was thinking about retiring, she was able to explore many of her passions, such as golf. 

“When I was semi-retired over the summer for those couple of months, I started golf [and] it was a lot of fun — it was something I’ve always wanted to do as a child,” Jones said. “I used to play [golf] in the backyard growing up with pine cones and a golf club, so I actually got to hit a real golf ball in the summer. [It] kind of fulfilled a bucket list that I really didn’t know I had until I took lessons.” 

Jones said she thought she was ready to retire this year; however, with a sudden change in heart, she decided it wasn’t time yet and came back to the main campus after an offer. 

“[When] the administration decided to reopen [the cafe], they wanted me to be the one in charge and take the training so it can be reopened for the students.” Jones said.  

Jones said she is happy to be where she is now. 

“I’m a people person,” Jones said. “I like to talk to everyone; I guess that’s kind of my personality. Working here makes that satisfying in that sense of I get to talk to people, work with the students [and] work with different people in the staff.”