Public Employee Press

Dreams come true
New CNR students follow their dreams
Union benefits help Family Assistant return to school

By ALFREDO ALVARADO

Lending a helping hand to others has always provided Vivian Rosario with a great sense of satisfaction.

The Local 372 member worked for several years as a pre-school teacher before landing a job with the Dept. of Education. Now the Bronx native works as a Family Assistant in the Students in Temporary Housing program, a unit within the Office of Safety and Youth Development.

Rosario works in a shelter screening the new arrivals; she monitors the school attendance of the children and assists them in applying for their MetroCards that help them get to school.

The families she works with at the Bronx shelter are all struggling with difficult circumstances, from domestic violence to a sudden loss of income and being unable to pay their rent. But through it all Rosario works as best as she can to keep the families from falling apart and making sure the children attend school.

"A lot of times school is the most stable thing they have in their lives," said Rosario, who acknowledges that the stories she hears every day can be depressing.

But a stressful job and raising her teenage daughter on her own have not prevented Rosario from pursuing her dream of a college degree. So, last year Rosario enrolled at the DC 37 campus of the College of New Rochelle, where she has a concentration in social sciences.

"I didn't have the benefits and the financial assistance that I have now as a union member back when I was a pre-school teacher," Rosario said. After she graduates she plans to continue her studies and get her master's degree and become a guidance counselor.

When Rosario is not helping families at the shelter or studying for an exam, she's busy planning a trip to Latin American or the Caribbean. She's visited the Colombian capital of Bogota and Mexico City, and she's planning her third trip to Haiti in April. As part of CNR's Ministry Program, she was chosen to participate in the annual Plunge Service trip to Haiti, and as a member of this team helped organize the only library in the rural community of Sassier, an hour's plane ride from Port au Prince, Haiti's capital.

"All of the kids in Sassier have to walk more than an hour to get to school," said Rosario, who has learned to speak some Creole.

For her efforts in Haiti, Rosario was honored with the College of New Rochelle's Serviam Award, an award presented by CNR annually to a student for their outstanding community service.