Education

Ivy Velez was born in Puerto Rico and currently lives in Marlborough Massachusetts. She is an Intensive Care Coordinator and works with deaf families with children as part of a bicultural, bilingual health care program. In this interview Ivy discusses what it was like growing up deaf in the United States after her move from Puerto Rico. She shares her educational experiences, the differences between Puerto Rican Sign Language [PRSL] and American Sign Language [ASL], and how she assisted her deaf parents with translation.

Lorna Farquharson was born in Jamaica in 1946. She spent her early childhood and early school years with her family in Jamaica. In this interview she explains how she came to the United States, the jobs she had when she first came to the country, and how she met her husband. She attended Quinsigamond Community College and Worcester State College where she took nursing and business courses. She also talks about having a Chiari malformation with syringomyelia that almost killed her when she was in her forties. Lorna raised two sons and now her greatest pleasure is her grandchildren.

Barbara Groves was born in Springfield, MA. Her father was a salesman and deacon, and her mother was a pianist at the local church. She has one sister; she’s married and has two daughters, one son, and one child deceased. In this interview Barbara discusses her life story including her moving to nine different locations throughout her life. She discusses her teaching and counseling career and how they have helped her find meaning in her life. Indeed, in this interview, Barbara gives insight to a number of ways of finding significant meaning in life.

Rose Anne Ferrandino was born in 1936 in Worcester, Massachusetts. She was the oldest of four children and grew up in a predominantly Irish neighborhood. Her parents sent she and her sister to Ascension High School, an all-girls' Catholic school in Worcester. She went on to take classes at Quinsigamond Community College, Northern Essex Community College, and Worcester State College. She married and had two children. Her husband died of lung cancer in 1996. She also has a grandson.

Ogretta McNeil was born on September 2, 1932 in Washington D.C.  She came to Worcester to attend Clark University and earn a master’s and doctoral degree in psychology.  She is a bold and vibrant woman who loves her life—her family, career, and her strength through her education.  Throughout her life she has faced many challenges, including discrimination, widowhood, and working as a single mother.  In this interview, Ogretta focuses on her education and career.  A majority of her interview describes her work at The College of the Holy Cross as a professor of psycho

Linda Forte is currently a fifth grade teacher at Worcester Arts Magnet School.  Although teaching wasn’t her initial career goal, Linda finds it rewarding and worthwhile to be able to make a difference in a child’s life.  She was the first of her family to be born in the United States, as her family emigrated from Finland. Although she faced no gender discrimination, she was discriminated against as the child of two immigrants.

Hilde Hein was born in 1932 in Cologne, Germany, and was the first tenured female faculty member at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA, serving as professor of philosophy from 1970 until 1999. She was also part owner of Annapurna, an Indian restaurant in Worcester. Hein’s academic focus is the philosophy of museums and the philosophy of women, and one of her main achievements at Holy Cross was to teach a groundbreaking course on the philosophy of women.

 

Catherine Woodbrooks was born in Rumford, Maine on October 27th 1954, and moved to Worcester, Massachusetts in 2002 when receiving the position of Vice President of Student Affairs at Assumption College that she presently holds. She received her Bachelor’s degree in speech pathology and elementary education from the University of Maine Farmington, her Master’s degree from the University of Maine in Orono, and then went on to receive her doctorate in higher education from Ohio State University.