Public Employee Press

College of New Rochelle
Changing lives
By ALFREDO ALVARADO

Born and raised by adoptive parents in Puerto Rico, Frances Torres moved to New York City with her family in 1973 and settled in East Harlem.

She was 13 years old when she arrived. Two years later, she began running away from home to escape her parents' verbal and physical abuse. Eventually she left for good, dropped out of Julia Richman High School and then went to work in a Brooklyn factory, earning $5 an hour.

"My parents told me that I would never make it without them - that's all I needed to hear," recalled Torres, who works as a District Family Advocate in Community School District 7 in the Bronx.

Torres has proven her parents wrong several times, raising two boys by herself, working her way up from a volunteer to her current position at the Dept. of Education, completing her undergraduate degree at the DC 37 campus of the College of New Rochelle in 2008 and now studying for her graduate degree in counseling.

"I never thought I would get this far," Torres acknowledged. She credits her CNR professors for providing crucial guidance and encouragement. "They are so supportive of the students, they're there for you when you need them," said the Local 372 member. "They understand that we have families to take care of and full-time jobs too."

Her going to school has also had a positive impact on her boys, 19-year-old Christopher and 23-year-old Freddie. When they saw their mother studying at the kitchen table, they joined her with their schoolwork. "Children copy the adults who are around them," she said, already sounding like a veteran guidance counselor.

Education opens doors

When she completes her master's degree, Torres would like to work as a bilingual guidance counselor. "I didn't have that growing up, a mentor, someone to advise me along the way," she said.

But Torres has had years of experience working for the DOE, starting as a volunteer in her son's elementary school, then her job, first as a Parent Liaison and later as a Family Advocate.

Her difficult adolescent years and her belief in education is what kept her motivated. "You have to have a better education," she said with conviction. "Everything is always changing and you want to have options available to you, and education does that."

Like Torres, Adrainer Coleman has lots of experience juggling family responsibilities with a full-time job, evenings and weekends reading, studying for tests and writing term papers. "It's difficult, but not impossible," said the Brooklyn native, who is also active with the Christ Fellowship Baptist Church and the local NAACP.

Coleman began her career working as a paraprofessional with the United Federation of Teachers. After a year, she joined the Dept. of Education in 1998 as a School Lunch Helper in District 28 in Queens.

Always looking for career advancement and to provide a positive example for her daughter Monique, Coleman left the cafeteria for the classroom and got a position as a Family Worker at P.S. 26 in Brooklyn. In her new job, she was responsible for coordinating workshops for parents and keeping track of student attendance. "Working with young children was challenging but also rewarding," said Coleman.

Coleman realized that her work would be more rewarding if she continued her education. "It was a little scary," she said about her return to the classroom "But with God all things are possible."

Supportive staff is key

In 2009, she graduated from CNR with a degree in psychology. "It was a wonderful experience," said Coleman of her college days. "I wish my mother would have been able to see me graduate."

Like Torres, she also credits the CNR support staff and professors for helping her achieve her dream. "They're an incredible group of people," she said.

Now Coleman recommends the educational benefits the union offers and the CNR program to her colleagues on the job. "Just take that first step," she advises them. "And don't quit, because the reward comes in the end."

Like her union colleagues, Local 1549 member Althea Pettigrew had some apprehension about returning to the classroom. "You have to think about the finish line," said Pettigrew about the strategy that helped her accomplish her goal.

A native New Yorker who works at the St. Nicholas Job Center in Harlem as a Secretary III, Pettigrew recently completed her master's in mental health counseling. "It was a great feeling of accomplishment," is how she describes crossing the finish line.

With her degree completed, Pettigrew is now getting ready to take the substance abuse counselor test to become a certified counselor. She's also volunteered at Harlem Hospital's substance abuse department and the psychiatric department for several years.

"One of things I learned is that everyone has to be approached differently," she said. "Everyone has different circumstances and issues."

Her drive to continue her education came in part from seeing her own family struggle; neither of her parents went past the fifth grade. Pettigrew, who grew up during the crack era and was raised by a foster family, was determined not to become another inner-city statistic. "If I was going to be a statistic, I wanted to be a positive statistic," she said.