About Yourself: My Life Path

I was born on June 4, 1967. Growing under the care of my grandmother, I learned a lot from her. “Joelina, always give your extra toys to those who don’t have any” my grizzled grandmother, in her shrill voice, always insisted. This, and other things my grandmother did, instilled in me a rare sense of care and philanthropy that has greatly influenced my life. She would always tell me that if I did not take good care of my things, other people who needed them most would have them. This filled my childhood with moral lessons: help those in need, and better still, keep what you have in good care. Little did I know that my life was already taking shape and a clear framework for my future occupation was well outlined.

In January of 2001, my grandmother and I moved to Bushwick New York, where I attended middle school. I was admitted in ESL classes, and I remember getting an award for writing and reading English within the first year. This considerably boosted my vision and personal ambition to “soar to the skies”. My goal to grow professionally, as well as serve the community and less fortunate, grew even more.

Having been born and raised in a family comprised of people who were inspiring and motivating, the prominent family values I learned were generosity, hard work, and honesty. Through imitating my family’s character and habits, I developed a passion for serving the less fortunate in my community. As I remember, people in our community would sometimes refer to our family as the “Mother Teresa family” because of our generosity and acts of clemency. As time went by, I grew more and more passionate about serving people. In the same vein of community service, I frequently volunteered at different places and served generously. As I worked, I did not realize that the experience I gained would one day be a stepping-stone on my path to success. When I completed high school, I continued volunteering at different organizations, especially those dealing with humanitarian aid. I used to operate, or rather lived my life, with one vision: helping society.

Interestingly enough, and uncommon to the practice of hiring at one of the best hospitals in New York, I was hired without a bachelor’s degree. Getting a job at this hospital has been one of my biggest lifetime accomplishments. How could it be that they hired me without a bachelor’s degree? Well, they noticed my passion for helping people was so intense that they thought I was more valuable than other people with more qualifications. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity they gave me, considering the impact helping, and being with, all the people at the hospital has had on my life.

From then on, I’ve had amazing experiences doing things that I love; I studied Liberal Arts at the Kingsborough Community College, I became a member of the National Hispanic Nursing Association, and I got a position at the New York Presbyterian Hospital where I served as a Talent Sourcing Specialist. Over my experience, and in leadership positions, I learned that a leader should naturally and harmoniously work with people, serve people, and help people.

My final thought is that I've been lucky enough to understand that caring for people, hard work, and honesty should be core values for anyone wanting to help themselves within society, and for helping society as a whole. With these values, that have played a major role in shaping my life, I set out for, and was able to have a remarkably positive effect on the world around me. Being generous has fostered a feeling of love and interconnectedness in my life that many wouldn’t even fathom.