Alena Gretencord Memorial

I am creating this on behalf of Alena and her family to help cover memorial services. Please share and donate if you’re able to. Feel free to also pay tribute by sharing your memories of Alena in the comments. Thank you. ❤️


I remember the first time I saw Alena was at a meeting on campus. I didn’t know a single person there and she was sitting in the corner with a group of friends. She stood out to me because she was laughing, loud, and goofy and I thought she had the coolest sense of style. I ended up becoming more involved in the group and she became one of my officers. I was secretly excited just to have an excuse to be her friend, though I never told her that. When we finally started hanging out and she saved her number in my phone, we had to save it as “uhhhh-lee-nuhhh,” just to make me stop pronouncing it wrong. As we became closer and she became more involved in the community, I could see the woman she was growing into. She was strong, proud, and stood up for what she believed in. I was so proud of her! She was someone that everyone could talk to and trust and was always there when you needed someone to talk to without judgment. Anytime I needed to get away and relax she invited me over to her house. It didn’t matter what day or time it was. We would sneak into the apartment hot tub and get chased out by security for it being after hours or sit on that old couch on her balcony watching the sunset and talking about the future. Anytime I had a long day at school she would randomly surprise me outside my class without warning at 10 o’clock at night for “friend sushi dates,” even when she had class in the morning or a project to work on. Even when time or money was tight, she put her friends first. She was one of the most imaginative, free-spirited people I’ve ever met and she always had a view on things that I couldn’t see until she pointed it out. She would show me a design or art project she was working on and could talk about it for hours, down to the last detail and reason for every part of it. Everything she did was with purpose and passion. I can’t believe that she is gone and I am sad that the world lost someone so loving and full of energy. I love you and will miss you, Alena!