When Dionicia Perez Azua has a goal, she will accomplish it. Over the course of her career, Azua went from working for St Gobain to pay her way through cosmetology school to serving as the chief clerk for the Erath County Justice of the Peace, and she is proud of her journey.
At Dublin High School, Azua loved dancing and was on the drill team. When she graduated, Azua planned to be a cosmetologist and dance teacher.
Between Azua and her five siblings, however, money was tight, and she couldn’t afford to go to college immediately. She decided to start working, and found a job at St. Gobain as an assistant to the data systems operator.
After two years there, Azua decided the job was not for her. Her godparents offered her a job at their cattle ranch near Dublin as a secretary. She loved the work, and decided to go back to school to study office and computer technology at Ranger College, using the money she earned from working.
“When I graduated from college, I wanted to pursue a career as more than just a secretary,” she said. “Thinking into the future, if I wanted to have kids, to have a family, I needed insurance. So I decided to go work for the city of Dublin.”
She found a position in the water department as a water clerk, where she would help people set up their water services, handle billing platforms and schedule maintenance when needed. “I was the person to go to in the Dublin area if you had a problem with water,” she said.
She stayed in her position for five years. In 2016, her longtime boyfriend Junior Azua proposed to her. “When I went to get my marriage license, I told my husband, ‘It’s my new goal to work here at Erath County.’” For the next few years, Azua scanned job openings at the county. In 2019, she applied for a position as a clerk for the Justice of the Peace for Judge Shawnee Bass, and got the job. “She’s an amazing judge, I love her,” Azua said. “I was with her for about three years and it was an amazing opportunity.”
Bass retired last year, and Azua now works with Judge Jeffrey Alexander. Her job is to enter tickets, work with civil cases and, every now and then, help issue warrants. “We get a lot of people coming in and out, so it’s pretty exciting and your day is never the same,” she said. “I think that’s the main thing I love about my job. Sometimes dealing with defendants can sometimes be really difficult, but every day is a different day.”
Azua took a lot of professional inspiration from her former chief clerk, Jocelyn Zuniga Perez. “She was just so good with her words and work ethic-wise,” Azua said. “She went beyond what she needed to. And also we brought God a lot into our work area — we both talked about God a lot.”
That faith helped when the work got hard. “[This job] has tested me,” she said. “That’s why I prayed so much. It tested me so much that it made me feel like a failure, but I kept telling myself ‘Be strong.’ And I think it helped us that we knew God was present with us.”
When Perez left her position as chief clerk in September of last year, Azua took over.
“I am beyond proud of myself for where I’m at right now,” she said. “I didn’t think I would ever get here. Like I said, at the beginning I just wanted to become a cosmetologist. So now being a chief clerk at the Justice of the Peace has been pretty amazing.”
Azua married her longtime boyfriend Lazaro Jr. Azua in 2016. Before she even met her husband, a friend had tried to set them up on a blind date. “I said, ‘No, I don’t do blind dates,’” Azua recalls. But they ended up meeting by chance anyway, at a quinceanera in 2007. They became friends, then started dating.
Her husband is a constant source of inspiration for Azua. “He inspires me because he has so much confidence in me,” she said. “He pushed me through college to different careers that I had. He’s an amazing man.”
The Azuas have one daughter, Zaylee Azua, 2. “My world is all about my baby girl,” Azua said. “She is my mini-me. She loves to dance. She likes to sing. We sing ‘You Are My Sunshine’ and she likes to say ‘sunshine.’ She’s just so goofy.”
When she has free time, she spends it with her husband and daughter, as well as her parents, Paula and Fidel Perez, and her siblings.
Throughout her adult life, Azua has kept her passion for dance. She has worked as a Zumba instructor on the side, and now, her daughter attends dance classes.
Azua’s advice to Dublin graduates is to stay persistent. “When people tell you, ‘No you can’t do it,’ use that as a push to go forward and to conquer your dreams and never give up,” she said.
Editor’s Note: This column chronicles what Dublin graduates have done since high school. If you have any suggestions for other grads, email publisher@dublincitizen.com.