Gabriel (Jimmy) Alvarez Award
On 02/12/2026, I received the Gabriel (Jimmy) Alvarez Award for Private Practice Counselor of the Year from the Three Rivers Counseling Association, the local chapter of the Texas Counseling Association.
In my head and aloud with my partner, I’ve gone back and forth about whether or not this is a big deal. My ultimate conclusion is this: it is. It’s a huge deal for me. I was deeply moved and incredibly honored. There were tears. My work is important to me. The role I have in my clients’ and colleagues’ lives and in my community is important to me. To be nominated by a mentor and friend and to have people I’ve never met decide that I’ve earned this kind of recognition isn’t something I take lightly.
This summer, my practice will have been open for four years. There were moments early on when I questioned whether private practice was the right path. Growth often includes doubt. This adventure has been hard, scary, and stressful, and I won’t lie to folks about that. It has also been rewarding, healthily challenging, and joyful. It has taken an amount of persistence I didn’t believe I had and am still not 100% certain about. Also, lots of tears and restless nights.
The practice and I have come a long way, and this isn’t the end of that. I’ve learned that where I am one day is just where I am that day. Yesterday may have been different, and tomorrow is likely to be different. It is feast and famine and learning how to navigate these realities. I’m a solo practitioner in private practice, but I haven’t done any of this by myself. The Universe saw fit, before I opened my office, to put special people in my life who are managing the same realities, who do the same or similar work, who have hearts big enough to include me, who share with me, who call me out, who sit with me wherever I am....
"You don't need to close your practice and start over."
"Someone I know is looking for a counselor, so I sent them your way."
"You're doing a good job!"
"I'm proud of you!"
"Your office is so cozy."
"You can do this."
"Trust yourself, Maggie. You know these things. And you know what makes sense for the practice you want to build."
I work at this every day. Some days like a mad woman. Some days like someone else is really in charge and I just have these small tasks to complete before I go home for the day. Some days I work at it outside of the office: resting, spending time with loved ones, reading, re-centering, laughing like that’s my actual job, spending quality time with Hellen, knowing myself better, sitting in quiet & stillness, etc.
This recognition ultimately reflects the courage and work of the clients who trust me each day.
This is not a Heisman Trophy, but when Joe Burrow won his Heisman in 2019, he made a moving speech about the poverty of southeastern Ohio and referred to himself as “just a kid from Ohio.” He was specifically referencing Athens, OH, but “southeastern Ohio” includes my homeland. I couldn’t wait to buy a “Just a kid from Southeast Ohio” shirt. When I achieve something, meet a goal or milestone, or just feel like I’m doing something that has greater meaning outside of myself, I reflect on my own identity as “Just a kid from southeast Ohio.”