Sara O’Connor Gallardo 1999 Settles in Texas

Sara O’Connor Gallardo, Class of 1999, reports that she is a court probation officer in the 427th District Court in Travis County, Texas. “I make referrals for cases that the District Attorney’s office makes probation offers on,” Sara explains. ”I then monitor the cases that come back to court for compliance issues and act as a liaison between the Travis County Adult Probation Department and the judge. There’s something new every day, for the most part. A perk of the job is that we have access to trials. It’s always interesting to watch a good criminal trial up close. I really enjoy my work as I feel like I am able to positively impact people’s lives by getting them into treatment. Conversely, when someone poses a risk to the community, I advocate that they spend time in our county jail as a sanction or ultimately have the term of probation revoked and have them sentenced to state jail or a Texas Department of Corrections facility.”

Sara’s husband, Gregg, works for Travis County as well. He is a carpenter for the Housing Services Department. This department serves to improve the quality of life for people in Section 8 housing or who meet a certain income level that qualifies them for subsidized repairs and weatherization for their homes. The department also offers services to those who have landlords who refuse to make repairs to the property.

Sara and Gregg have three children, Bella, 15, Gabriel, 4, and Maya, 2. “They keep us busy! Bella is an aspiring college softball player who plans to go to USC to pursue a career in kinesiology or health sciences. Gabriel’s goal in life right now is to learn how to ride a bike, and Maya just wants to keep up with the rest of us.”

As for living in Austin, Sara reports it has “turned out to be a really great place to settle down. It’s very different from Connecticut and too far from my parents and my fellow Hamden Hall alumni, Heather O’Grady and her beautiful kiddos—my niece, Molly, and nephew, Dylan. If I could get Heather and Kara Horvath down here a couple of times a year, I’d be all set!”