Part One
https://pace.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=26ae9c10-fd06-4a68-b7e5-b0cf0137b664
Part Two
https://pace.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=497534c3-22dd-4f54-a8e1-b0cf013274c0
Bella: Cool. Okay, um, so just to start, do you want to tell me a little bit about um where you grew up? And what your childhood was like?
Flora: Uh, yes so I grew up in a single-family household with a Mom and three sisters. Um, we have a Dominican heritage. I was born and raised in New York, um first generation Dominican-American. Um, I am the youngest of three daughters and um the one right now that is pursuing- or is actively within a position in education. My other sisters are in medicine and- and law enforcement. Um, yes I’m not sure what else I can mention?
Bella: Um, yeah no that’s definitely good. So, you’ve lived in New York your whole life?
Flora: Yes, yes. I’ve always lived in New York. Born and raised in New York- Manhattan, specifically. Um, and had been living there up until I went to college, upstate New York, Suny Binghamton. Um, where I pursued a bachelor’s in Africana studies and Latin American and Caribean studies um with my intention um- is to delve into higher education and work within that field. And post-college I moved back into the city, specifically Brooklyn, where I am currently living still.
Bella: Um, can you tell me a little bit about what that was like coming back into the city? Um, did you sort of have like a different impression of it once you were upstate?
Flora: Yes, so I want to say I had a pretty strict childhood growing up. Um, being the youngest of three children- three daughters, specifically. Given the neighborhood that I grew up in, um which was a bit tough um dangerous in some areas. And so, with this in mind, there were a lot of restrictions I had in terms of being able to socialize and having that kind of development in terms of the socialization. Um, so actually going into college was my first opportunity to be able to- to understand myself, to figure out what it is that I like, what I don’t like. You know, how to work on my social skills. Um, and you know, how to advocate for- for myself. Just given my background of being a younger child, the youngest child in the household, and just having someone take on that- that leadership role for me. So, college was an experience for me to really step up. Um, you know, and take control of my life and the decisions that were happening within my life. So, post-college coming back into the city, I did come back with a sense of awareness of my surroundings, a little bit more understanding of other people’s demographics, backgrounds, experiences. Not to say that I wasn’t conscious of it prior to, based on my own personal circumstances, but I was able to be exposed to a larger group of um- a larger group of students from different backgrounds: race, gender, class, you know, that I was restricted with prior to. So, coming back post-college, I was able to, you know, to use those social skills that I was able to get to further advance the way that I navigate New York City and the busy lifestyle and kind of just go-getter mentality that you need to have in such a big city like New York. So, just adjusting to that was actually um- actually ended up being a great experience for me. To just step away, go to a college that was- um, basically the college makes the town. It’s very, very different from what I was accustomed to coming from a larger city. So, returning back to a larger city after having like a smaller- just a smaller experience just helped me to really just realize that, as I mentioned, an appreciation for different backgrounds, but also an appreciation for slowing down in a sense. And aside from it being a busy moment, just finding and understanding the importance of slowing down and just like a slower process. Um, yeah.
Bella: Yeah, I think that definitely makes sense that like leaving and then coming back like you kind of had like a little bit more awareness of the pacing. Um, do you think that- It sounds like you had a really positive college experience, if I’m like- if I’m interpreting that correctly?
Flora: Yes.
Bella: Do you think that kind of led you to want to go into higher education? Like sort of giving students what you feel like you got?
Flora: Absolutely. Um, so I was part of the educational opportunity program at Binghamton, which is an opportunity for, um, people with lower income that may have demographics of race that’s not- that’s generally not accounted for within the school demographic at the time. Just an opportunity for those individuals to, um, have a chance to attend a University like that despite any financial circumstances that they- that they may be dealing with. For myself, a single- coming from a single-parent household with, um, with three children, we did experience a lot of financial issues, you know, growing up. And so, coming into college, in particular coming in with- having the opportunity to attend college through a program- through the educational opportunity program, also known as EOP, um, allowed me to really see the importance of having a community, you know? And just having people to advocate for you. Even- even as simple as helping to write an email, you know, just kind of that support system that I felt was like really helpful. And just throughout the four years I- honestly, I’m thinking about it as I’m talking to you, It played such a big role in just like my personal development. You know starting college at seventeen, I feel like I left as a true adult. That was one of the experiences that I was able to gain, you know, from that program, from the academic advisors that were within the program, from the financial aid advisors that were within that program, and the type of individual care and support that they provided. So, my first- one of my first jobs post-college was as a financial aid advisor for about five, six- six years. Um, and that was all attributed to the great experience that I had with my personal financial aid advisor within the program. You know, and how attentive she was and how detailed she was and any kind of aid that could be available. You know, how available she was to help with any applications, or any kind of aid that could be available, you know, how available she was to help with any applications or any process if needed. Her ability, or her want to extend her support and her information, not only to myself, but offering it to the parents of the students that were there. So, I found myself coming from just um, *coughs* excuse me, coming back from a financial background that was, you know, we struggled with. That stuck with me. That stuck with me. Just having people that are there that actually care. So, um, me just not quite sure about what position or what career I wanted to get into, I always knew it was going to be a position of service- of some type of public service. Um, and just personally, since I was able to have that kind of support within college through advisors, in particular, having that experience and give forward in the same way to other students that might be in the same position that am. So yeah, so just that experience has- my college experience has influenced my several career opportunities that I’ve had moving forward, related to public service. You know, related to helping students. In particular, my services have been within higher education, mostly, but I do have a little bit of experience in the administrative role within the elementary school level as well. Yeah.
Bella: Yeah, I think that- I think that’s really beautiful that that was something that really helped you and then you were like- it kind of helped you find your passion too. I just think that’s really cool. Um, do you feel like that’s something you’re more aware of, um, as someone who works in higher education? Like the fact that some students are coming from different socioeconomic backgrounds and might not have the same opportunities that other people have?
Flora: Yeah, absolutely. I feel I use that as my first introduction with the student- I’m asking them: How are you? You know, what’s your story? You know, um, where do you feel like you can get a little more additional support? Where do you feel like you are- that you have succeeded? And what ways do you feel like you haven’t been able to? And are those ways- and for times that you aren’t able to do something, are there ways for us to plug in some support services to help you with that? So, my vision always when approaching students is to get a background on just where they are right now. Um, and they can come from varying- from varying demographics. They can come maybe from, for example, for myself, from a single-parent household, um they probably come from the foster care system, um, you know they probably come from a very coddled- a very coddled-like household; it’s just like a one-child, you know, just having that experience of having that focus no longer just being on them and maybe just having that pressure of figuring things out on their own. Um, so yeah, just incorporating a lot of just like ‘How are you? Where are you?’ And how we can plug in is very important to me. I prioritize that when I’m speaking- when I’m speaking to my students.
Bella: Yeah, I think that’s, like, something that’s very important that sometimes people forget about. Like, you know, school sometimes isn’t the only stressor that students have, you know like that’s actually a pretty privileged way of living. Um, so you said you worked as a financial advisor before coming to Pace- Um, can you tell me a little bit more about what that was like? And, um, I think if I’m doing the math correctly, you worked there then during- when COVID hit. Can you tell me a little bit about that? What that change was like?
Flora: Um, so it was actually a few years before then. I had been working within financial aid from 2011 to about 2016, but, um, yes. And I did do some financial aid actually here at Pace. I started my financial aid career at Pace for a couple of years and then I went over to another, um, private institution, but it was a smaller- a smaller university. Um, so I guess I can give you maybe a little bit of details in regards to that. So, my experience within Pace as a financial advisor, um, I, you know, I helped with a little bit of everything related to federal, state funding, institutional funding, um, and then also just providing general financial aid, um, guidance and advising to students and to parents alike. Um, I genuinely enjoyed that experience, um, but as you know Pace has over ten thousand plus students, um, so I found it a bit difficult to delve into, um, an individual- a student as much as I would have liked to. I feel like, um, I was able to- to provide, you know, make sure that everyone had their financial aid and, you know, any support that they needed completing applications to get everything set. I feel like I was able to accomplish- to a certain level, considering the volume of students that we had. At that time, I was handling about twenty-five- twenty-six hundred students myself and then the others were split. And at the time, um, advising was across campuses between Pleasantville and New York City, so there were about twenty-six hundred students,um, that I was handling myself. And at that moment, I loved the work that I was doing, I loved the contribution that I was doing, which is important because you need financial aid to- you need to pay your bill. So, um, but I did feel really sad that I wasn’t able to commit as much time as I would have wanted to. So, I just began exploring maybe, um, alternative options that I can do to just help expand the help that I feel like I can provide. And, um, I was presented with the opportunity to be a financial aid manager at a smaller, private as well, um, it was a private university that had a- I believe the total was about twenty-five hundred students combined. So, that did offer me an opportunity with- split between three other advisors as well. So, there was an opportunity too in that sense to focus a little bit more on my target group at that moment, which I believe was about seven-hundred students at the time, which does seem like a larger group, but, um, more manageable in the sense that I could delve deeper into- into wanting to help them. For example, if they were searching for any outside- outside scholarships or grants, I would be able to assist them to search for applications, complete applications, perhaps do any recommendations for them, et cetera that’s separate from anything from FAFSA or through the state. So, yeah, I feel like that kind of experience- um, I’m grateful that I was able to experience financial aid advising in a larger setting within Pace, and then becoming familiar with the different types of institutional funds that are available. But also having the opportunity to expand what my personal passions are, which are to- to help a little bit further than normal. And I was able to accomplish that a bit more with, uh, with the smaller school within that position. So, I’m- I’m grateful.
Bella: Yeah. I think that makes a lot of sense, especially with, like, being able to give students that- more like one-on-one, you know, attention.
Flora: Yeah.
Bella: So, can you tell me a little bit about, um, what caused you to leave that position? And then, you know, if that flows naturally into what happened or what your experience was like in twenty-twenty in the beginning stages of the pandemic?
Flora: Yes, so at the height of- I want to say post-financial aid, I had, uh, begun to explore just other passions that I was having- that I have. Um, and those are related to, um, excuse me, to community work, food security, land access, agriculture, gardening, landscaping, um, topics related to nature and access and affordability in that sense. So, those have always been personal passions of mine, which I had had the opportunity to do some volunteer opportunities over the years, even within my financial aid position. Doing some volunteering, um, volunteering landscaping work, um, I have a permit to work on the New York City street trees, and I regularly do maintenance on the physical trees, not the plot. Um, on the plot- on the trees, as volunteer work for many years now. Um, and that’s just, you know, an opportunity for me to be able to, um, just to give back. There are always just curious people that might stop by and just wonder like ‘What are you doing?’ You know, and I’m just able to provide that- that information, you know ‘This is what I’m doing. This is how it would help the tree. This is how it would help you guys. If you would like to help the tree, these are the sorts of things that you can do to help.’ So I find passion in having those- an example of a volunteer opportunity like that over the years because it’s allowed me to just connect with people from different demographics, and to be able to pursue my passion as well. So, within those volunteer experiences, I went ahead and took a leap of faith, um, and left that career and officially entered into horticulture and gardening, which is where I transitioned into working in the Botanical Gardens in Brooklyn, so it’s very different from financial aid. But, um, very aligned with what I was doing personally with my volunteer- and just my personal interests. So, working as a horticulturist, gardener at the Botanic Gardens for a few years, um as a community instructor for community-based classes that are offered within the garden as well. I was one of the instructors for it as well. Um, and, um, yeah. Just expanding my- my experience within horticulture, just plant life in general, expanding my teaching abilities, my personal knowledge of it, um, over the years I expanded that. Um, lately I have, I guess, just more recently my transition back into higher education, um, was in the effort for me to continue on getting the personal one-on-one aspect that I feel I always want to incorporate in my volunteering efforts, and within my work. And the Botanical Garden did offer that experience to me, to work with a wide variety of a demographic, but I wanted to work with students again. I feel like, um, my passions, just personally where I was around college, at the time of college and the type of support I would have needed or wanted around the time. I feel like this is an age demographic I’m interested in wanting to help at this point, and also in tying it into what my passions are in terms of food access, food security. And so, I returned, um, within Pace and have started a master’s program doing public administration on a nonprofit administration track with the intention of going into food access, land access, diversity, equity, and inclusion world related to, um, this specific demographic- to college-aged college-level demographic. And, I had an amazing experience when I was here over a decade ago, um, you know, working within financial aid and internal support that, um, future- former cohorts, um coworkers, excuse me, I had with them. And, um, the experience that I had just generally with the university was- I felt like it would be a great opportunity for me to come back into this environment, and that it was coming into this environment. And, especially, given that it was coming into this environment in a smaller setting as well. It’s a larger school, but working within honors’ college, it is a smaller pool, um, which does allow me the opportunity to have a little bit more of that one-on-one- that one-on-one guidance that I had been yearning, um, to tie in along with my personal passions, volunteer opportunities, and just blending everything together.
Bella: Yeah, I think, um, that’s- that was such a strong, thorough answer. I, um, do you feel like there’s more of a demand for that kind of work? You know, like making sure there’s equity within higher education and sort of, like, community-bonding just, like, work? Do you feel like there’s more of that after the pandemic? I know that a lot of people sort of became more aware about social injustices at that time.
Flora: Absolutely. Um, I would say at the height of COVID, I was working at the Botanical Gardens. Um, so within that position I felt like it was especially, especially important to have those types of programs that are offering the chance at community, at community building, at still meeting new people despite the pandemic and the issues we were having with that. At the height of COVID, people tended to stay at home for obvious, you know, concerns. Um, but that also just secluded a lot of people from being able to establish new connections, develop on their- or establish better connections with their current relationships. And just overall just help themselves mentally, um, with adjusting with what the new normal is. So, being an instructor, a horticulturist at the garden at the time, um, I felt that it was a great position to have because I was able to still connect the community to nature, to the outside world, to each other. Um, and the demographic was generally a bit older, I want to say probably forties and higher. So, I did have a lot of experience with them, and by higher, I can say like up to- I can recall someone about sixty-eight in a class of mine. I was- I was grateful that despite- despite the height of COVID, that this demographic, um, I want to say especially the demographic that was retirement age and older, sometimes- that could have proven to be very difficult in terms of, okay you’re already retired, what else is there? And now you’re stuck at home, you know, without any outlets. So, that essentially helped me with, um, being able to still connect with people in-person still safely with masks. Um, but still being around nature and, you know, help people to not go into like a downward spiral mental-wise. And then just post- post the garden, when I re-entered higher education, in twenty-twenty-two with, uh, with Pace as an academic advisor, that was also an opportunity for me to use my past experiences to help a little bit more with the smaller cohort I had within honors’ college. Um, it was a couple of- shortly after the height of COVID, but there have been some spikes on and off like over the years. So, it is still an issue that is affecting people day-to-day. Um, and I have come across a couple of students that have just personally due to COVID, have had, um, a lot of issues. Like deaths in the family, sickness, causing delays in just paperwork, schoolwork, um, general upkeep of life, you know. Sometimes, it’s literally as simple as personal hygiene, kind of just figuring it out, incorporating that back into the rhythm of life. So, I do still feel that issues related to COVID are still prevalent even to this day. Um, I would say, initially, it was something new to everyone, so something we had to mentally adjust to, but the effects of it has been ongoing. Having that experience to come back into higher education in a smaller setting, which I love, which I wanted, has been able to, um, allow me to have these conversations with students on ‘How are you a couple of years after Covid? You know, what are the things that you’re still maybe struggling with or you still may need help with?’ Some people that are- that may have had issues advocating for themselves, um, you know, pre-COVID and even just with COVID with a lot of added on restrictions. Just reminding them that there is a community here within Pace, within honors’ that they can lean on for continuous support as we navigate through the ups and downs of COVID.
Bella: It’s, um, you raised such an interesting point with the people who are retired- that’s a demographic that I didn’t even really think of being someone who was in school. I just kept on being like ‘Poor me!’ without the in-person instruction, but I think that makes a lot of sense with what options were there for people that were retired and, like, you know, needed that community still. But, um, I think sort of, if I’m understanding you correctly, it’s like people are more inclined to be able to ask people like how they’re doing personally in like these higher-education settings because of COVID, which is such a cool outcome in a way.
(First Zoom stops, and switches to the next meeting.)
Bella: Um, okay, so I guess just where I left off, um, do you feel like there’s like a difference in how people interact with students after COVID? Like do you feel like your values about that one-on-one connection- do you feel like that’s more of a thing now? Or do you feel like it’s still something that we’re struggling with?
Flora: You mean just in- accounting for college students? The demographic within college students?
Bella: Yeah, yeah I think with college students.
Flora: Um, I would say just personally because I have a personal passion for, you know, for- for helping students, you know, for giving advice just in that sense. But, um, I’m not sure if- I’m not sure if I have an opinion on if I feel that it’s a larger issue of it being addressed or not. Um, I guess I would say just from my- my personal experience within honors college in comparison with the larger demographic of Pace, I do feel prideful in that we dedicate a lot of one-on-one time with the students within the program. That is not to say that the larger demographic of the rest of the school does not, but it is a little bit more individualized and one-on-one within honors because of such a small group. Um, so I feel like just in my sense, um, my answer to that- or maybe just people within my office, may think that they’re, or we are actively helping out this demographic-
Bella: Mmhmm.
Flora: Um, but just like in a larger sense, I’m not sure if, um, if they would just agree that it’s a general issue in- in this demographic of having that support or, you, know, from others.
Bella: Yeah. I think that that’s so, like, with- with honors college it’s really great that we get that one-on-one support because I don’t know that I would get that, like, if I wasn’t in honors and performing arts. Like, I have some friends that aren’t and, like, when it comes to registration time and, like, figuring things out financially for them- they feel like they’re kind of on their own, which can be hard. Um, do you feel like, um- Sorry, I forget where I was going with that. Um, do you feel like there’s a difference in students- like, coming back to higher education? Like, not necessarily after the pandemic, but more when it’s something that everyone has gone through.
Flora: Yeah, I feel like people are just a bit more aware of their surroundings, which is great- which is a great thing to have that in New York and in just big city life. Just be conscious of- of how their actions affect others. Um, obviously, in particular, health-wise and, you know, how lackadaisical they may be and how that can potentially affect even themselves and inadvertently people that they even care about. So, I would say just in terms of, um, being conscious of self has increased more post-COVID. Um, and I would say it had been a gap between working within education, but my prior education experience- excuse me, advising experience to now, I do see a difference in the type of help, the type of demeanor that students come in with. I would say just previously, there was a- there seemed to be some type of hesitancy in asking for support, um, maybe getting to the office is one step, but not being able to ask all the questions that they may have wanted to for x,y, and z reasons. Maybe due to fear, embarrassment, um, you know, uncertainty that they were going to be able to get any support. And then just post-COVID, excuse me, um, I feel like that- this advising cohort that I’ve experienced- again it’s a different demographic, different people, so it could be a different experience because of that, but I do feel that a lot of more people were more open to asking for help. To be specific, like ‘I have so many things going on, you know, in my life right now. I haven’t answered any of my emails and that has been at the top of my mind. Like, I need help sorting through things.’ And so it became an opportunity where they were expressing other things non-academic related that is affecting their academics, um, that had they not shared that, there will be limited ways that we can know how we can potentially plug-in. You know, for example, I just gave that example because I had a student that had that kind of concern, that had dealth with- that had an ADHD diagnosis, um, just going along with that, depression and anxiety as a result of ADHD. And, in particular, having issues with- overwhelming issues of accomplishing tasks and getting a couple important things settled. And so, with that particular student, I was able to physically sit down, not related to academics, and help them go through their email, you know? Sometimes, it’s just the fear of opening something up, or starting a new- stepping into a new door or a new situation. The unknown, sometimes, is very scary. Um, and, you know, the avoidance of that unknown is what gets people in- in tough situations. And so being able to- I feel like people being more open to expressing, you know, how they’re doing, why they’re feeling that way- the ‘why’ part of it has been really helpful. Um, post-COVID just in general I feel like people have been- maybe I’m using the wrong word, but I feel like like just humbled in the sense that there’s this big, you know, thing that’s affecting almost the entire world and we are dealing with this together. So, there’s a certain level of comradery and just like understanding. And then with that understanding, I felt like it allowed people to kind of lower their guards and be more empathetic, or apathetic to others that might be dealing with- with whatever they’re dealing with. So, there’s definitely a heightened sense of I want to say- I don’t want to- I feel like I’m using the wrong word in saying, like, emotional security, or a heightened emotional awareness that maybe has allowed them to outwardly express what those are as a result of our joined trauma through COVID.
Bella: Yeah. I think, like, I’ve definitely noticed that too. Like, just being aware that you do have- like, your actions have effects on others. Like, it starts as simply as just wearing a mask, but then that gets bigger in like ‘Other people have stuff that I’m not aware of and I need to act accordingly.’ But I think it’s great that in your position you can do that, and just, like, help someone go through their emails because that’s something that can be so overwhelming as a college student. Like, sometimes, if you just slack off for, like, a day it will just pile on, and on, and on, and on. And that’s just intense even when you’re in a good mental state. So, it’s great that you were able to support that student. Um-
Flora: Yeah.
Bella: Is there anything else that you feel like you want to share about COVID or sort of, like, the activism that went on during that time?
Flora: Um, I would say just generally, with COVID- actively ongoing COVID, I feel like it opened up a lot of opportunities for us to put a magnifying glass on a lot of the social issues that we have. In particular, um, just to tie it back with some of my personal passions and interests, like, related to- who has access to food? You know? Who has- who has a place to stay? You know? And then post, you know, COVID- and just post COVID, affordability of anything. So, it definitely put that into perspective for myself, and seeing how different government entities, organizations, individuals, how we can and should be coming together to address a lot of these issues that have always been bubbling at the surface but have come to the forefront due to this issue. And, I guess, maybe how we can be more strategic in ways to- to tackle these issues. Especially given let’s say, for example, the college student demographic, um, in particular, let’s say we’re discussing undergraduates, so that could be anywhere from seventeen to about twenty-five let’s just say. And understanding how they get affected, you know, coming to college is already a new experience, um, you are probably getting to know yourself for the first time- you are probably developing on whoever you had found yourself to be. Or maybe, like myself, you hadn’t been exposed to many demographics because of your past background prior to college, and then just having that kind of exposure to new things, to new experiences, new people. Um, and the way that COVID affected it because I’m sure it was very difficult for the twenty-twenty incoming class, twenty-twenty one incoming class to be able to enter into this new, I would say, chapter into their lives. And seeing that it wasn’t the experience that they maybe hoped for having to live within Zoom, um, and, you know, get to know people just via classes because the university wasn’t necessarily open at the time for larger events due to safety reasons. So, I would say I am grateful that, uh, the university has- has over the years been able to add on more of the in-person opportunities the events, the study abroad programs that had been paused at the height of COVID, and now has resumed with the proper precautions put into place. Um, and the proper initiative groups that have been established to help target some of these- these issues that students are having. Um, so yes, I would say just generally, COVID within college definitely affected students, um, in a way that I feel like depending on the university of place that they’re in, it could either help them or make a situation even worse depending on what support or what avenues they may have. But it was definitely difficult I would say. Whatever the class is that started in twenty-twenty, especially that year in being able to meet other people was definitely difficult.
Bella: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I feel so lucky to be able to go to college when it’s- even though, obviously, we’re still being affected. Um, it feels like everyone’s at least prepared and it’s- it’s nice that I’ve gotten to have that instruction. I mean, especially just because it is such a financial sacrifice to go to college, and then to be able to get that full, traditional experience is so- I feel so lucky. Um, it was so cool to hear about, like, all the different types of work you’ve done- especially in the botanical garden! I didn’t expect that, but that’s such, like, cool, important work, and that’s so amazing that you were able to do that during the pandemic. Um, so thank you so much, Flora, this was so nice getting to talk to you. And, yeah, I think you’re such a cool person! Thank you so much!
Flora: Thank you! Thank you so much, Bella, for this opportunity and, um, good luck with everything!
Bella: Thank you! Have a good day, Flora!
Flora: Thank you! Bye!
Bella: Bye!
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