Movement to remember Alicia Quintana develops a life of its own

To help cope with the trauma of losing his sister, Daniel would go to the mountains and draw. He drew Alicia’s image, he drew birds. He just kept drawing. “When we decided on the Love Out Loud project in her memory,” his mother said proudly, “he did all of the incredible graphic design work (www.lici.bigcartel.com).” Where there is death there is also life, and where there is love there is always light. Daniel reconnected with a childhood sweetheart and one of Alicia’s friends, Leigh, during the services. They fell madly in love and ended up getting married and having a baby girl named Ava.

“Daniel was really my strength through all of this,” said his mother. “He showed up and just took charge and worked so hard on Love Out Loud.” Soon Daniel and his wife were expecting a second child. “He had an okay job in Kingston but knew that he had to find something more substantial with a growing family,” Steffens continued, “so he just began to send out all of these emails with examples of his graphic design work and landed an excellent job in New York City as a designer.”

Steffens went to visit Alicia’s grave on the fourth anniversary of her death. “I asked her to help me. I told her I didn’t think I could keep this up, I missed her so terribly.” Steffens said. She went home and decided to bake a cake for her daughter. “I called up five of her best friends and said, Let’s go out and celebrate Alicia’s birthday. Nothing maudlin, I just craved to be around her friends and share stories and have dinner together.”

Half-way into the meal, Daniel called his mother to say, that his wife had gone into labor three weeks early and had given birth to another baby girl — Alina — on Alicia’s birthday.

Love Out Loud provides a scholarship for two graduating seniors, one each at Highland and New Paltz high schools, who have taken part in their high school music departments and have the love of and passion for music which Alicia did. “Laugh Out Loud,” with two professional clowns born and raised in the Highland-New Paltz area, resonated with Steffens.

“Glenn was a student of mine,” explains Steffens, who remembers Heroy never showing up for her first-period Spanish class. “He was in danger of getting kicked out of school and not graduating because he always missed first period.” Steffens called his mother, one of the founders of 90 Miles off Broadway. Why was Glenn always late? His mother said she couldn’t ever wake him up. Steffens asked permission to call her pupil every morning and make sure he got up and to class on time. “And he did! Now look at him!”

When she texted to ask him to perform in the festival, Glenn Heroy accepted right away. “When I found out it was his fiftieth birthday I told him not to worry about it,” said Steffens. “He responded, I can’t think of a better way of celebrating my fiftieth birthday.”

Alicia’s friend Carragher also jumped on board without hesitation. The Laugh Out Loud Festival was a huge success. Seniors premiered their senior year DVD on a big screen chronicling their last year with pictures and music.

Things have a way of coming full cycle. The kindness Steffens has shown in the community as well as her continuing love for her daughter has added to this world. Love just keeps coming back. Alicia is not forgotten. “This community has been so generous and so supportive,” said Steffens. “I’ve sat down so many times to write a thank-you card, but when I try it’s so hard to write her name. But I want everyone to know how grateful we are.”