I went to Midwood High School received my diploma. Attended Kingsborough Community College and graduated with honors Phi Theta Kappa with Associates in Graphic Design. Following Kingsborough Community College, I attended Brooklyn College. I finished a year but wasn't able to finish. I had to pay out of pocket for college and it wasn't easy. I was working at a retail store at the time and was pulling 12 hours daily because I was an Assistant Manager. Along with school and this job, my mother passed in May of 2012 a week before her birthday. This was also a major setback in my life because monetarily death is very expensive! This took a toll on me mentally and physically. It took me a little while to come to the reality that my mother wasn't coming back. She was a big reason I was in retail. We shopped together every weekend and had a great time doing it. From this "obstacle," I learned not to take anything for granted and if you really want something to go for it. Learn to take a leap of faith. Reach for the sky so if you fall, least you'll still be amongst the stars. My mother didn't take advantage of opportunities that came her way, so I always told myself once she passed, I would take a leap of faith in endeavors I wanted to engage in. Since then, I've started working on an organization that helps the youth in some way shape or form. I've been in the childcare world as an Afterschool Program Director for over 10 years now and I have a love and passion for being a positive consistent influence in their lives. These scholars come from all different types of backgrounds and we just don't know what they go through in this life. Some 1st graders go through things that I haven't gone through as an adult. I know what it feels like to be overworked and underpaid. I've gone through that all my life. Now I've come to a point where I know my worth and realize I work hard for mine! I've gone through many different organizations, many different supervisors, and many different principals that didn't want my program in their school for whatever reason. It's not an easy task to wake up at 5am and be at work by 8am but my time doesn't start until 10 am but because I understand that work needs to be done and there's not enough hours in the day. My allotted time is 10am- 6pm salary based but no overtime. So, I'm there from 8am till after 6pm because I can't leave until the last child leaves. My motivation is seeing the scholars faces every day, checking in with them daily, and making sure I'm a part of the progression of their growth. As a minority woman, we are always on the ground floor working as hard as can be. We do NOT get recognized as much as we should but yet we continue to work our backs to the bone because we understand that without us things won't get done. This is just the harsh reality. The motivation of our scholars and wanting to do a great work in life is what drives us! We don't look for the acknowledgement because we love what we do! Overall, there has been a few obstacles in my life. I thank God every day that I don't look like what I've been through.

I went to Midwood High School received my diploma. Attended Kingsborough Community College and graduated with honors Phi Theta Kappa with Associates in Graphic Design. Following Kingsborough Community College, I attended Brooklyn College. I finished a year but wasn't able to finish. I had to pay out of pocket for college and it wasn't easy. I was working at a retail store at the time and was pulling 12 hours daily because I was an Assistant Manager. Along with school and this job, my mother passed in May of 2012 a week before her birthday. This was also a major setback in my life because monetarily death is very expensive! This took a toll on me mentally and physically. It took me a little while to come to the reality that my mother wasn't coming back. She was a big reason I was in retail. We shopped together every weekend and had a great time doing it. From this "obstacle," I learned not to take anything for granted and if you really want something to go for it. Learn to take a leap of faith. Reach for the sky so if you fall, least you'll still be amongst the stars. My mother didn't take advantage of opportunities that came her way, so I always told myself once she passed, I would take a leap of faith in endeavors I wanted to engage in. Since then, I've started working on an organization that helps the youth in some way shape or form. I've been in the childcare world as an Afterschool Program Director for over 10 years now and I have a love and passion for being a positive consistent influence in their lives. These scholars come from all different types of backgrounds and we just don't know what they go through in this life. Some 1st graders go through things that I haven't gone through as an adult. I know what it feels like to be overworked and underpaid. I've gone through that all my life. Now I've come to a point where I know my worth and realize I work hard for mine! I've gone through many different organizations, many different supervisors, and many different principals that didn't want my program in their school for whatever reason. It's not an easy task to wake up at 5am and be at work by 8am but my time doesn't start until 10 am but because I understand that work needs to be done and there's not enough hours in the day. My allotted time is 10am- 6pm salary based but no overtime. So, I'm there from 8am till after 6pm because I can't leave until the last child leaves. My motivation is seeing the scholars faces every day, checking in with them daily, and making sure I'm a part of the progression of their growth. Overall, there has been a few obstacles in my life. I thank God every day that I don't look like what I've been through.

I will be honest. Mental health was never a thing for me before the pandemic. I was always overworked and underpaid because I love what I do. I am an Afterschool Program Director and have a passion for being a consistent positive influence in my scholar's lives. I've been around so many diverse scholars, coming from all backgrounds of all ages, and they have regressed so much within the last few years. A lot of students haven't been doing schoolwork at home, let alone being in attendance for remote school. With that being said, when students came back for in person teaching, I had 5th graders reading at a K level which was heartbreaking. Because a lot of students weren't reading at their levels or understanding the work in general, this caused them to be very insecure about their school abilities. This would show in them acting out during a lesson or being disruptive in general. It's not an easy task to overcome but with brining mental health to the forefront through SEL (Social Emotional Learning) we've helped to deal with it day by day. I implemented SEL Wednesdays where we have 15-20 minutes every Wednesday dedicated to checking in on our scholars. I believe that mental health has sky-rocketed because like myself my scholars have been through so much these last few years including losing loved ones. I had a supervisor that was also a clinician and she taught me that there has to be a balance between work and personal life. She taught me that mental health is so important and is now being recognized more because of what this world is going through. I lost a lot of loved ones in the last few years one of the biggest ones losing my grandfather. He was the one who spoke slow but with so much wisdom that you couldn't help but pay attention. He passed while I was working and my supervisor said, "Melissa you have to go home." In the past, I would've continued my workday, but she allowed me to understand I'm human and the program will continue to run in my absence. She said take as much time as you need. I never in my career life had a supervisor tell me that but the difference with this supervisor and the previous ones, was that as mentioned she was a clinician first. She was very much in tune with the human side of people and not immersed in work life. She acknowledged things in life happen that we don't have control over and when they do happen, we need to acknowledge it in the moment. That supervisor has changed my life completely. I've been putting myself first more so now than ever. I have been acknowledging things are happening in my life that I have to dwell on for a moment because if I don't, I will not heal from the pain I feel. Mental health is so essential to my life now and I've had that trickle over into my career in helping my scholars as well. I can't tell you how many times because I've deemed my office and my program as a safe space, students have come to me with their issues. It's almost unbelievable that they're going through trying times and still showing up to school every day. I've had my middle schoolers come to me for help because they are in a way the head of the household. I've had my 5th graders come to me asking me how they can tell their parents they're failing in a class. Just because they are children doesn't mean they're not stressed with life. I try my best to get this across to my team of staff and also parents. Some adults feel because they are children, they have no worries and that is not the case at all! I encourage all to take a look at their lives and see if mental health is being addressed. I encourage all to not worry about being judged because they want to talk about something that's impacting their life in a negative way. We all need to vent, and we all need to take care of ourselves at some point in time and I'm still learning that till this day.

My best skill is being a people person. I have to be a people person in my line of work which is Site Director for afterschool. The traits that fall under being a people person is approachable and relatable. I have to let others know I'm available for them to come and talk about anything they would like. I am big on presentation and appearance because it was instilled in me from young from my mother. Many strangers come up to me and ask either about my hair, nails, or my bags. People have asked to take pictures of any of the three things just mentioned and I would let them. I tell them everything they want to know because I would want someone to do the same for me. I don't mind sharing the knowledge. Something I'm improving on in regard to people skills is my facial expressions. I cannot hide the way I feel, therefore it would show on my face. It's as if it's an involuntary reaction. I understand from speaking with others that my facial expressions may not be the best and that may cause others to think I'm judging them which is really not the case. The faces I intend to make is more of a "hmm interesting," not a judgmental face. There's always room for improvement and I'm trying my best to be conscious of what faces I make and when. Thank you.

What motivates me daily is the end goal of having a better life for myself. I have worked very hard all my life to make sure I get to where I want to be which is to live comfortably and not worry about what where the next paycheck will go. I have worked in the afterschool field for over 10 years teaching in the classroom and then being promoted to leadership positions because my employers saw a passion in me for my scholars. This is also what motivates me because I know these scholars come from all diverse backgrounds. If I can be a consistent positive influence in a scholar's life, that makes me feel like I fulfilled my mission. I have seen scholars act out in the classroom because they don't necessarily know how to express their feelings, or they're used to negative attention. My job is to sit down with these scholars and have a conversation with them. They need someone to talk with them not at them. I see past the behavioral issues and see them as a in individual. I want to create a better life for me monetarily so that I can do fulfill my own personal goals. Working with children motivates me to get up every day and work towards fulfilling my personal goals. Thank you.

What I do to make my friends and family is be myself. I am dedicated, reliable, consistent, and most importantly funny. With this combination of characteristics, it's inevitable when I come around, you're guaranteed a good time full of laughs. I like to help my grandmother (deceased mothers' mother) all the time with household chores. I am an only child and am what's left of my mother so when I'm around my grandmother, it makes her feel good because she has a part of her oldest child near her. She knows when she calls, she can count on me to be there. As for friends, they call me the "glue" that holds us together because I always get everyone together. Life is too short not to communicate and spend time with your friends. People that make you feel good people that will make you laugh when you don't want to; that's true friendship. Thats what I embody. Being a shoulder to lean on when friends call and say "I need to vent" or helping them pick out something as simple as an outfit. Me making the time for the phone call or helping with an outfit goes a long way. It's not so much the act it's the thought behind it. I am one who takes family and friends very seriously. I want to see everyone be successful and that's where consistency comes into play. I am always challenging my family and friends as to what the next steps are in their life and that also encourages me. Thank you.