Felicia Hudson: Celebrating a Cherished Colleague’s Impact and Legacy
Felicia Hudson worked for Santa Monica College as the Custodial Operations Manager for 28 years. In the time that Felicia worked at SMC, she brought joy, laughter, light, and consistency to her co-workers' lives.
When speaking with Lizzy Moore, a colleague of Felicia’s who worked alongside her for 11 years, she talked about how radiant Felicia was, how the community of SMC can honor the memory of Hudson and support those close to her, and the kind of person Felicia Hudson was.
When speaking about the kind of person Felicia was, Lizzy Moore said, “We had worked together for over 11 years, and she was this quiet force of a colleague and leader, (a) deeply trusted individual, someone who I rely on and relied on for every event I ever produced at the college. I described it at the memorial like she was the secret sauce we had for producing events to center students. Felicia loved SMC students.” Moore added, “It wasn’t a job for her. It was a calling. She wanted students to just have the most loving, barrier-free environment. Whatever that meant. Whether it was how something was set up, whether it was running back to the office when she didn’t need to just to make sure that we had something. She just was so dedicated to students and to her college community.”
In regard to how the community can honor the memory of Felicia Hudson, Moore said, “I think that we just have to keep her memory alive with the shared stories and not be afraid to ask ourselves, ‘what would Felicia do?’” Moore added, “And she would really put everything aside to get the job done. So those tenants of hard work and dedication and commitment to excellence are things we can all do to exude the spirit of Felicia Hudson.”
The loss of Felicia Hudson is undeniably difficult to shoulder. Lizzy Moore talked a little about how it’s been hard to come back to campus after the sudden loss. “She was on every campus… so her touch is everywhere. It’s not at one campus or another campus, it’s everywhere. So the hardest part, at least for me, is that she’s not physically there. She should be there.”
Felicia was heavily involved in events that gave back to the community, working overtime to make sure jobs were done. Every year, SMC does an event called “Giving Thanks(giving)” which distributes holiday groceries to students in need. Hudson ran this event several times, last year helping out over 2,000 students.
Moore added, “It’s just unthinkable, and particularly heading into November, which is our big Giving Thanks(giving) event… Felicia was paramount to that event, to the execution, the planning. Last year we had 2,004 students attend. And that doesn’t just happen, you know. The experience that students have is really about how seamless and effortless we can make it feel. And that takes a lot of planning and intention to work.”
“I think if I were channeling Felicia, she wouldn’t want the attention. She did not like to be in the spotlight. She was, like I said, that secret sauce behind the scenes. That magic behind the scenes. And I would just have to say, ‘hey, giving you a reminder that…’ and she’d already have it done. It would be like magic, I’d show up and whe(n) it was the drive-through food pantry that we did for almost three years, the tables would be set up when I get there at seven o’clock in the morning, ready to go, perfectly set up, it was effortless and that's what she did. She just made things effortlessly and with pride. And I think I’ve thought a lot about particularly Giving Thanks(giving) because she loved that event. It was so centered on students, making sure that students have the groceries and that they have all the groceries for their families and themselves. It's a massive undertaking, and you know, we're raising money for that.”
Moore added, “In the next couple of weeks we’re going to be putting signs around campus for people just to donate five bucks, even if they do that in her honor, you know, Giving Thanks(giving) in Felicia’s honor. Like I said, she wouldn’t want the attention, but knowing that more students could be served would be something that she would love. She loved all students, and she had a very special place in her heart particularly for her Guardian Scholars.”