Life has a strange way of putting directional arrows and well-timed opportunities in Alex Diciaula’s path. In the course of earning two degrees from Viterbo (in 2015 and 2021), he has gone from an ultracompetitive young man focused on a professional sports career to someone focused on helping others, bringing people together, and continually being present, joyful, and thankful.

Growing up in Brookfield in a family of athletic boys, competition was the main driving force in life for Diciaula. He lived and breathed basketball, and he was very good at it, catching the attention of Viterbo University’s head basketball coach, Wayne Wagner.

Many colleges tried to recruit Diciaula, but he said Wagner was the first to reach out, and Viterbo did the most to attract him. It helped that Diciaula had one older brother, Thomas, living near La Crosse and another one, Tad, who played soccer for the V-Hawks and went on to become a chiropractor after graduating from Viterbo in 1999.

When Diciaula first came to Viterbo in the fall of 2010, he wanted to earn a degree in exercise science and become a personal trainer like another older brother. Learning all about maximizing physical performance also meshed with his ambition to play professional basketball after college.

“Biology didn’t really fascinate me like I thought it would,” said Diciaula, who switched his major to sociology because he found that subject immensely fascinating.

His senior year, Diciaula struggled first with an ankle injury and then a corneal abrasion that blurred his vision. “At that point, I gave up on the idea of playing professionally,” he said. “I also lost interest in competition in general. I wanted to step away from that realm and tap more into the heartspace. I got really interested in trying to find a way to bring people together.”

Sports still had a strong allure for Diciaula, though. He was considering going to graduate school for sports psychology, but in the summer after he graduated he started working at Chileda, a La Crosse institution serving children and young adults with cognitive and behavioral challenges. The work proved to be life changing.

“I got so much out of that,” Diciaula said. “I feel like I learned so much about myself and the world. It taught me a lot about service, about gratitude, how to connect with people, how to meet people where they’re at.”

His experience working at Chileda from 2015–19 inspired him to come back to Viterbo to earn a master’s degree in mental health counseling. He had to quit Chileda to focus on his studies, but he still had income from teaching yoga and driving for Uber. Then the pandemic hit in March 2020.

With his income cut off, he moved into a friend’s basement. Early that summer Diciaula saw a Facebook post about the food pantry at Place of Grace. He visited the pantry to pick up some much-needed provisions and struck up a conversation with Place of Grace house coordinator Aaron Rasch ’15, who had taken some yoga classes from Diciaula.

Rasch mentioned Place of Grace had an opening for a live-in house coordinator, and Diciaula jumped at the chance. Not only did it mean a place to stay, it also was a way to connect with and help people.

“It was really just a perfect opportunity,” he said.

Founded 25 years ago, Place of Grace has been known for its weekly community suppers and its food pantry, but physical sustenance is not the primary mission. It’s about being there for people in need and offering a place to connect.

“Food on the table is a Band-Aid,” Diciaula said. “People are searching for connection and community, and offering that connection is a much greater catalyst for change and growth. A lot of people coming through might have a concern or problem to process. I try to just be still and be present for them, just be someone to talk to, someone to show them that someone cares.”

With his work completed on his mental health counseling degree, Diciaula is excited to have more time to invest in Place of Grace. He plans to stay at least through the winter, but what this new beginning looks like is a little hazy. He has plans to write two books, one a practical guide to meditation, the other a rhyming illustrated children’s book based on foundational tenets of yoga (yamas and niyamas).

“I’m really trying to open myself back up to the flow of opportunities and see what doors open up and where,” Diciaula said, “just like Place of Grace opened itself up to me at the perfect time.”