  We report HST/STIS spectroscopy and Gemini/GMOS-N imaging of the Damped Lyman
Alpha (DLA) system toward HS 1543+5921 caused by the host star-forming galaxy
(SFG) SBS 1543+593. The Gemini image shows new morphological details of this
well resolved DLA galaxy. In combination with previous optical spectra, the new
UV spectra enable us to compare for the first time, ionized and neutral
gas-phase alpha-element abundances derived from emission- and absorption-line
spectroscopy, in a bona fide DLA galaxy. The abundances we determine using
emission-line diagnostics agree with those from absorption-line diagnostics. We
present our results on a metallicity versus redshift diagram that combines
local HII regions and SFGs with high-redshift DLAs, and discuss implications
for the chemical evolution of galaxies.
