Growing up, my stepdad was a Federal Agent, so I’ve lived in almost every state on the East Coast from New York to Florida. I’ve worked in every field, from food service to truck driving to construction to car sales.
“I left Guatemala for New York City when I was 35 years old. My wife, two daughters and I moved into the Forest Hills Co-op, and I started washing dishes at a local bakery.
“I’ve been a resident of Queens for 38 years. I love Queens because there’s just this strong sense of community, even more so for me because my husband runs a dojo here.
“I came to know QCH through the Summer Youth Employment and Work, Learn & Grow programs. Through both I was able to work for a local television station.
“Our family came to the United States from El Salvador. My sister and I came to QCH for the English classes; we wanted to communicate better with people. The way they teach us here is better than any other place I’ve been.
“I graduated from SUNY Old Westbury in 2016 with a degree in media and communications. I spent some time interning at a public relations firm on Long Island while applying for jobs. QCH’s opening for a Youth Employment Specialist instantly caught my attention.
“I started coming to QCH’s Forest Hills Senior Center 18 years ago. My wife and I had just moved into the Forest Hills Coop and we were looking for something to do, so we came here to play dominoes. Now we come all the time and we are members of the NORC program as well.
“I’m currently in the Agriculture Program at John Bowne High School, and my teacher told us about the Pomonok Center and what a great place it was. I met the Director of the Youth Food Justice program and we had such a great talk that I signed up to be a part of it.
“I first came in contact with QCH in 1985 when I was working for Cannon and I would come to service the office equipment here. In 1996, I decided to leave Cannon and start my own company.
