Alicia Bonilla may have arrived on campus as a student, but these days she serves as the administrative assistant and communication manager for the Departments of English and Philosophy. An English major, Alicia started out as a student worker for the department. When a full-time administrative position became available her senior year, she jumped at the opportunity.
Learn more about Alicia, her favorite part of her job, and what she enjoys doing when the work day ends.
Describe your role as an administrative assistant and communication manager.
My role is kind of three wrapped into one. As communications manager, I manage our social media accounts (along with our team of student workers) and our website. I also plan and host our events. This includes finding venues and catering to making flyers and posting on our socials. As an administrative assistant, I do pretty much anything that helps the office run smoothly, things like managing calendars, booking rooms for meetings and supervising student workers. And emails. Lots of emails.
What is your favorite part of your job?
My favorite part is being on campus and getting to work with other people who love books. Working on a college campus and getting to be a part of that community isn’t something I take for granted. I love how alive campus is during the semester, and working for the Department of English means I always have someone to talk to about books and writing.
What clubs or extracurricular activities were you involved in as an undergrad at VCU?
I actually founded the English Club during my undergrad called For the Love of Literature. I served as Club President during my senior year, and it has now been taken over by the next generation of student leaders who are doing such a good job running events for our community. You can find them on IG @ftloveofliterature.
What is your favorite Richmond restaurant?
I recently discovered Cielito Lindo on Broad Street. It’s a Latino supermarket with a restaurant in the back of the store. They serve authentic and made to order Salvadoran food for super cheap! I go whenever I’m missing my mom’s cooking and order their pupusas revueltas. They also have great tacos. You can get tons of food for under $10. I can’t recommend this local place enough!
What are your hobbies outside of work?
Anything you can picture your grandmother doing is one of my hobbies. Other than reading, I’ve always liked to crochet and bake. I’ve been really into crossword puzzles recently (LOL) and I’m currently learning how to sew so that I can mend and make my own clothes.