I am the primary caregiver for my mom, who has short-term dementia and my brother, who has vision trouble and can’t care for himself. Caring for everyone is in my nature. It can be overwhelming sometimes, but my family needs me.
I’ve been teaching art classes at Queens Community House for roughly 13 years. Working with older adults means a lot to me because I’m getting up in age, myself. I see folks out there that have always wanted to pursue art, but never had the time.
I was a professor of Audiology and Speech Pathology at Brooklyn College for many years. I got my degree at NYU and my doctorate at Columbia University. I was always interested in how people express themselves and how they meet challenges.
It was always my dream to open up a daycare center. Challenges stood in my way for so many years, but I’m determined. Last year, with the support of my friends and family, I finally opened up my own in-home daycare.
Back in high school, I was looking to make a change. My habits weren’t healthy, and my academics suffered. I wanted to become a different person. That’s when I joined Voyages Preparatory High School.
I worked as a microbiologist for over 20 years. Doctors would send me blood samples and I would check the bacteria and see which antibiotic would make the patient better. Then I would report to the doctor. I am proud of my career.
A friend introduced me to Generation Q when I was a sophomore in high school. It was there I built the community that would one day become the lifeline I needed during my transition to becoming a woman.
Community organizing was a value instilled in me at a young age. When I was a teenager, I was a participant in almost all of Queens Community House's afterschool programs, including the first Access for Young Women cohort, a girls' leadership program.
I’ve lived in Kew Gardens all my life. My parents were German immigrants who moved to New York during the war. They spoke German and English with us children at home and French when they didn’t want us to understand. That’s what sparked my great love for languages.
I started attending St. Lukes in Forest Hills after my sister passed in 2002 . I joined in order to take my niece, who’d grown up going to church with her mom. I slowly got involved, first by joining the choir, then by joining the church’s outreach program.
