Faces of Long Island celebrates the uniqueness of everyday Long Islanders. In their own words, they tell us about their life experiences, challenges and triumphs. Newsday launched this social media journey into the human experience to shine a light on the diverse people of this wonderful place we call home.

‘My son’s health really took a huge blow a year ago, and the fact that he was able to overcome that … really says a lot about how hard he has worked.’

Port Washington

“My son, Steven, is 12 years old and is a swimmer. This is his fourth year on a nationally ranked swim team. Last year, when everyone returned to school, he developed very severe allergies. We don’t know what brought it about. He was barely able to swim last summer [2021]. Multiples times he had three- to four-week stretches where he couldn’t even get into the pool because his breathing was so bad.

He has been swimming since he was 4 or 5 years old at a local pool.

“After tons of doctors’ appointments, he was put on a few different medications and started to improve. He still managed to qualify for one Junior Olympic event after dealing with the summer of not swimming and dealing with asthma and allergies. He has been swimming since he was 4 or 5 years old at a local pool. When he was 8 years old, he moved up to the regular swim team and was getting better and better. They advanced him as far as they could in the Barracuda program. He ended up trying out for the Long Island Aquatic Club. He was probably the best swimmer on the Barracudas team; he had two or three records in a few of the events.

“When he came to LIAC, they put him into a low age group. I was kind of surprised that he was put into one of the lower groups. The higher groups are more intense; there’s more practicing, there’s more attention given to those kids. But in the end, I think it benefited Steven because it allowed him to improve. He did well with the slightly slower pace, and he’s just used his work ethic to rise to the top. In addition to all this great stuff he’s done, in the school he’s a phenomenal student. He just finished sixth grade with straight A’s while practicing six days a week, about 12 hours a week in the pool.

“Summer is even more practicing hours. Steven also swims for Manorhaven Red Devils during the summer, and this year they continued with an annual swim-a-thon for CancerCare. Steven raised lots of money with his brothers for their team. They do this every year to help the organization provide everything that someone who is going through cancer treatments would need. His health really took a huge blow a year ago, and the fact that he was able to overcome that and get to such a high level within a year really says a lot about how hard he has worked.”

‘Sometimes people start out in one place and don’t end where they expect.’

Hicksville

“From the age of 7, I knew that I wanted to play piano for the rest of my life. I pursued it in college, thinking that I wanted to be a pianist and a music teacher. After playing and accompanying singers in college, I quickly discovered that I had an operatic voice. I worked really hard and auditioned to become an opera singer. I did many young artist and opera apprenticeship programs, and then I was an accompanist for ballet schools. I played and sang in churches and performed in operas throughout the U.S. In 2006, I met my now best friend and business partner at the Utah Festival Opera. We both happened to be named Jennifer, we met while singing, we became roommates for a summer and we are both from Long Island!

I’m glad that my partner and I were brave enough to realize our dream and put it into action.

“Later, we started working together at a church. She was the cantor, and I was the organist for 13 years. At the same time, we were both teaching piano and voice privately. We collaborated and did recitals with all of our students informally. We had a dream to build something bigger. We saw the need for lessons in the home. Now Long Island Studio of Music has over 50 teachers and over 400 students. Our teaching faculty has music degrees and plays all different instruments. I’m really proud of what we built and the fact that we’re seeing the students year after year getting better and better. Sometimes my partner and I just look out into audiences of parents and students and appreciate that we keep music-making alive. I didn’t realize that I am a leader.

“I thought that being a successful musician meant that you’re only performing. What I have to impart on my students is important and invaluable. Sometimes I have to pinch myself because it has grown into this. There’s a whole other level of performing that comes into this. I have grown a lot; I am good at it, and I really enjoy it. I’m where I’m meant to be. Sometimes people start out in one place and don’t end where they expect. You never know where your path is going to take you. I have been lucky, but I have taken the risks along the way. I’m glad that my partner and I were brave enough to realize our dream and put it into action.”

Interviewed by Iris Wiener

‘I did this because of my father. Now my grandchildren know that my father was Poppy. I’m Pop. Poppy had a car just like this.’

Oyster Bay

“It’s a 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air two-door. It was called the Tri-Five era. Cars from those three years — ’55, ’56, ’57— are still very fashionable. This is the original motor, original transmission. I have a passion for it because my dad owned one. He bought a new one in 1955. Before I got my license, he said, ‘We’re selling the car’ because people only had one car per family. My mother didn’t drive. I said, ‘No, please!’ I always wanted one.

“Thirty years later, I was able to get this, and I have been working on it ever since. A good friend of mine had the car, moved to Florida with it, and did a lot of the work. I was always helping him with it. He was from Bethpage. He said it ran its course and asked if I wanted it. I said yes and continued building it. This was a 10-year project.

The car is just a throwback. All metal. No plastic. Real old American cars.

“I’m doing a lot of subtle things underneath and on the suspension. The car is just as beautiful underneath as it is on top. It’s a labor of love. My grandchildren now like changing the spark plugs with Grandpa and changing the oil with Grandpa. My kids don’t like it, but my grandchildren do. My wife enjoys that this is my girlfriend.

“It’s a throwback. I did this because of my father. Now my grandchildren know that my father was Poppy. I’m Pop. Poppy had a car just like this. The speaker is from a drive-in movie, and it does work. In fact, sometimes I bring a wireless mic and kids think the car talks — like the old days when they used to roller skate up to the window and bring the tray to the window and you’d order a hamburger and fries and watch a drive-in movie. The car is just a throwback. All metal. No plastic. Real old American cars.

“I drive the car about 800 miles a year. In the winter, it never comes out of the garage. All summer, I drive it around to car shows and parades. I did a Fourth of July parade. The firemen have me up there because it’s red and white.”

Interviewed by Tracey Cheek

‘I had a 10 percent chance of getting pregnant even with IVF because of my age.’

Lisa Pineda, Garden City

“I met my husband later in life. I’m a serial monogamist. I was really into my career, and having a family didn’t cross my mind. When I was ready to start a family, it was a struggle for me. Being the natural girl that I am, I was really reluctant to go down the IVF [in vitro fertilization] path.

“After trying to get pregnant for a year, visiting a doctor, having the doctor tell us some devastating news — I had a 10% chance of getting pregnant even with IVF because of my age — I knew in my heart this had to be wrong because I had gotten pregnant and miscarried before.

“When I found out that I got pregnant, I couldn’t believe it at first. I had been so disappointed along my fertility treatments that I kind of numbed myself. Every time I went through the process, I was so scared to find out the test results. The first step was one intrauterine insemination and that resulted in a miscarriage. The second one was another IUI, and that failed. Because of my age, my husband and I wanted to fast-track everything.

“When I did one IVF, I got pregnant. But because IVF is so stressful and so filled with anxiety, I couldn’t trust that it was going to really happen. When I finally met all my milestones and I graduated from the IVF clinic, the doctor literally told me, ‘You don’t have to come back.’ That’s when I finally felt relieved and overjoyed and grateful that it was going to become a successful pregnancy.

“I am a yoga instructor. Luckily, I was able to use the tools in my back pocket to help me go through some of the toughest times when I was going through IVF.

“When I miscarried, it was me getting back on the mat. That gave me the opportunity to get grounded and to center my breath. It gave me the opportunity to trust my body. Yoga is this calming practice. That’s what my body needed, especially to get pregnant.

“My book is dedicated to all the women and men who are struggling to build a family, whether they are trying to conceive naturally or using fertility treatments. Yoga, meditation, breathwork can help in so many ways. It offers the best guidance based on my personal experience with IVF and helping hundreds of women overcome their fertility struggles and actually achieve pregnancy.”

I like to tell anyone who starts yoga to not think that it’s about the physical postures. It’s about simply showing up.

“Eventually, I quit my corporate job and started my own yoga business. From there, I basically started teaching women who were pregnant and women who wanted to feel better after the pregnancy. That’s when I was trying to conceive. I took a break from yoga.

“After I had my son, I made it my mission to give back and start my Yoga for Fertility business. The yoga community here is so tight-knit. They share a deep connection here on Long Island. I think that because of this shared experience of something intense that the potential of bonding is high.

“What I love about teaching on the beach is that I’m grateful that I get to share this gift of yoga with students who can find freedom from their mind. They don’t have to be experienced. The physical postures bring them back to the breath, and they’re able to connect more with themselves. This is a stressful life we all live.

“Finding freedom from your mind and being able to give yourself that connection with yourself, it’s unlike any other workout. Practicing yoga on the beach, you’re connected with the elements of the wind, the beach, the water, the beautiful sunsets. Practicing yoga on a Long Island is like no other place.

“I like to tell anyone who starts yoga to not think that it’s about the physical postures. It’s about simply showing up. It’s not about touching your toes or bending your body like a pretzel. It’s about clearing your mind through the physical postures and getting back to the breath. Yoga is about the breath. It helps us to clear our mind and stay present.

“I like to tell each student — whether they’ve been practicing for quite some time or if they are new — that they just simply have to show up. It’s not about perfection. Yoga is a practice and it’s constantly evolving. That’s the beauty of it.”

Interviewed by Tracey Cheek

‘Even though native people are just 2 percent of the population, and on Long Island, it’s even lower … I just think it’s so awesome that we’re this small community and we have connections to everyone.’

Southampton

“I always think about my experience growing up being Shinnecock and how important storytelling is and knowing the truth of what happened here. Long Island history as it relates to Native American people, like Shinnecock people, I think that’s the starting point. A lot of my work is trying to fill in the gaps.

“I try to acknowledge those that came before me, use their research and present it in ways that people can enjoy it through art. I started my current photography portfolio in 2013.

“My project ‘On This Site’ looks at interesting histories that people usually haven’t heard about and tries to present them in site-specific ways through landscape photography.

For many years, we had been petitioning the federal government to acknowledge us for our continued existence.

“In early 2020, the house I grew up in was ready to collapse on itself from water damage, and animals were taking over. We ended up deciding as a family to try to restore the space maybe as an art space or studio. It is now Ma’s House, a communal art space for BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, and people of color] artists, located on the Shinnecock Nation Reservation.

“Even though native people are just 2 percent of the population, and on Long Island, it’s even lower … I just think it’s so awesome that we’re this small community and we have connections to everyone through this early history and the start of the nation.

“Two places on Long Island that I feel connected to are Napeague State Park and Walking Dunes — Walking Dunes just because it’s so different from everything. I think because it’s so hilly and marshy at the same time, it still maintains that pre-17th century feel.

“Even here on the Shinnecock Nation Reservation, this was all fields. You could see from the ocean all the way to Montauk Highway. I think that Napeague still has that feeling. I think about how Long Island used to look, and where are those sites that you can still appreciate it?

“One of our proudest moments that we have is from 2010. That’s when the Shinnecock Nation received federal recognition. For many years, we had been petitioning the federal government to acknowledge us for our continued existence. Now we’re a part of 570 other federally recognized tribes. This ruling made it so that we had a place on the map.”

Interviewed by Maggie Melito

‘It was almost like an out-of-body experience because you’re on the exact same playing field as everybody else. You’re just at the mercy of the ocean.’

North Bellmore

“I’ve always been more comfortable in the water than anywhere else. It was something I was always interested in. We just didn’t know how to go about it because I have cerebral palsy. Then, just looking through things on the internet, I actually have a friend who is older than me that had a spinal cord injury his senior year of high school, and his parents used to run a nonprofit called Wheels to Water, so we knew about adaptive surfing through that. That’s how I met Cliff and Will [Skudin]. They were on Jet Skis helping everybody get out in the water, and it kind of took off from there.

“[I have] more body control [in the water], not fighting against anything, when [in] other circumstances I really have to think about what I want my body to do. The water is the equalizer where you don’t have to put that same effort and thought into it.

“In my case, I have a bunch of guys that help me get out. I have a beach wheelchair that we hook to an ATV that the guys use to get things up and down the beach to get me onto the beach. And then someone will carry me down to the water, pop myself near my board. Someone else will carry it out. It’s a whole team effort to just make it out there. Then once I’m in the water, someone will help me paddle into the wave, and other guys will be on the inside to catch me on the way in.

“[My first time surfing] I know for myself I’ll never forget it. You know people say things are life changing. For me it was. It was almost like an out-of-body experience because you’re on the exact same playing field as everybody else. You’re just at the mercy of the ocean. There’s a certain adrenaline rush that you don’t get from anything else. It was always something that I chased because, obviously, I’m not going to dunk a basketball, I’m not going to do anything like that. So this was the perfect blend of me being comfortable in the water with the added adrenaline junkie stuff.”

There’s plenty of people who don’t know me, and I’ll say like, “I go surf,” and they’ll do a double take.

“The majority of people down here actually have no idea what my real name is. Everybody kind of knows of the ‘Surfing Samurai’ as almost like a cartoon character sort of. It came about because when I’m in the water, my hair is pulled back in what would resemble a samurai bun. But I don’t really have any fear in the water, so I’m sure of the combination of the two things. I like being out in bigger conditions, which not a lot of people in my situation are doing.

“[I hope my story can help by] spreading awareness of what’s out there for people, whether it be someone who knows someone with a disability, or someone themselves just going out and chasing after something that they like to do, no matter what people think trying to accomplish it.

“There’s plenty of people who don’t know me, and I’ll say like, ‘I go surf,’ and they’ll do a double take. You have to show them photos and videos, and [they’ll] be like, all right, this is something you can do that society wouldn’t necessarily think I was able to.

“More than anything, I don’t think without the Skudins — I’m not from Long Beach — I don’t think this community would have embraced me as one of their own without the support of them to be a part of Surf For All and the stuff with Skudin Surf, to be able to share my experiences and things with other people and get kids and adults in the water that you wouldn’t think it was an avenue for them. [I like] to see the faces after that first wave, the expressions of parents, like my own parents and my brother. I understand it from both sides of the coin. So, it’s cool to be a part of those memories. You never know where that’s going to take someone else.

“People on the beach now will see me being dragged down to the water and they’ll be like, ‘Wait a second, what are you guys doing?’ And they’ll have to watch me come out of the water, have someone put me back in my chair. And they’ll be like, ‘Oh, all right, this wasn’t a rescue, and he’s fine.’ But people still don’t grasp it until you really see it for yourself. And they’re like, ‘All right, this is pretty nuts.’”

Interviewed by Tracey Cheek

‘My dream is to own an acre or two of land in a rural area and tend to a small herd of goats.’

Hempstead

“I started working as a librarian in 2004. I was inspired by my best friend, Mary Robinson, who has worked in libraries since we were teenagers. I grew up in Freeport, but both of my parents came from the South. My mother had a backyard garden, and I enjoyed the food from it, but I didn’t consider gardening until I purchased my own home in 2011.

“I got really serious about planting and canning during the pandemic in 2020. Around the same time, I decided to start a gardening program for local youths through the library. I work at Uniondale Public Library, but we are next door to East Meadow, where the Cornell Cooperative Extension Farm is located. The Uniondale library partnered with them and the Uniondale School District to create the Junior Master Gardening Program in 2019. Kids from Uniondale were bused to East Meadow to learn about gardening, and everyone who completed the program received a certificate from Cornell University. After that, we purchased two gardening beds and placed them on-site at the library. We use one gardening bed for teens and the other for children. We have planted everything from loofahs to okra to corn to Jamaican sorrel (Roselle hibiscus) to sunflowers. The community loves it!

Gardens beautify neighborhoods and attract birds and insects like butterflies and bees that are important to the ecosystem.

“One older gentleman told us that our gardens remind him of the ‘victory gardens’ that were prevalent in Uniondale during World War II. The gardens also give people the opportunity to learn about different foods. We have big Hispanic, Caribbean, and African American populations in Uniondale, so we frequently plant crops that are familiar to those cultures. We then share traditional recipes that use those specific ingredients. Gardens can also be tended to year-round, even in the winter. Garlic and onions grow over the colder months and get harvested in the spring, and collard greens actually taste better after a first frost!

“Currently, we have a Seed Library program in effect where anyone who has a Uniondale library card can take home four packets of seeds free of charge per visit and start growing their own gardens. It’s been very successful; patrons constantly send us photos of their home gardens! We really want to educate people about the benefits of gardening, which allows you to grow healthy food, save money and nurture the environment. After all, gardens beautify neighborhoods and attract birds and insects like butterflies and bees that are important to the ecosystem.”

Interviewed by Meagan Meehan

‘I decided to prove to myself and my children that I could make my dreams come true and become a professional author.’

Ronkonkoma

“Growing up, I always wanted to write stories. Initially, I thought I would write the next Great American Novel, but then I realized that I was more drawn to comics. I have been obsessed with comics since 1993, when ‘The Death of Superman’ came out. I made my parents take me to every comic-book store on Long Island, but everyplace was sold out for weeks. Then I finally found a copy at a newsstand.

“I graduated from college in 2010. The job market was bad, but I managed to secure a position as a waiter at Ruby Tuesday. My friend, Brian, worked alongside me, and we created comics to keep ourselves sane. Then life got in the way. I found a better job as a client executive at a software company, I got married, and I had children. I didn’t start writing again until the pandemic hit in 2020. It was then that I decided to prove to myself and my children that I could make my dreams come true and become a professional author. I wrote several short comic stories and got them included in anthologies. To date, I have about 15 stories published in anthologies that are on sale at 4th World Comics in Smithtown.

“While I have always been interested in writing superhero stories, about half of my stories are in the horror genre. I write what I know, so family life, especially the relationship between fathers and children, is a central theme in a lot of my work. My oldest son inspired one of my most popular stories, ‘Dinner with Blobby,’ since he’s such a picky eater! Inspiration can come from anywhere. I should mention that I’m strictly a writer; the story was illustrated by a very talented artist named Don Cardenas and accepted into the ‘Nightmare Theater’ anthology published by Bloodline Comics. I’m eternally grateful to publisher Clay Adams, who took a chance on my work. My favorite story is ‘The Curse of the Egg Yolk,’ which involves a pandemic, fathers, sons and the legend of Humpty Dumpty. In the future, I would like to create and produce my own full-length comic book. I want to show my children what you can achieve when you dare to follow your dreams.”

Interviewed by Meagan Meehan

‘Both my parents came to America to provide better resources for themselves and their unborn children. That translated into me taking advantage of the educational opportunities that were presented to me.’

Elmont

“I am the second child and first daughter of Igbo Nigerian immigrants. I spent most of my life growing up in Elmont. A lot of who I am today stems from the impact of my family as well as the support system and environment at Elmont High School. Nigerian parents and culture really value education.

“Both my parents came to America to provide better resources for themselves and their unborn children. That translated into me taking advantage of the educational opportunities that were presented to me. This most readily happened while at Elmont High School and in the science research program.

“I was able to get my first research experience at the age of 13, which ultimately led me to pursue research in cement, concrete and civil engineering during my senior year of high school. That was a very fun and transformative experience for me because I was able to learn more about the carbon footprint of the cement and concrete industry, as well as inspire many up-and-coming scientists and young people across Long Island and within my own Elmont community.

“This inspiration happened when I was selected to be a finalist of the Intel Science Talent Search (now Regeneron Science Talent Search), chosen to attend President Obama’s White House Science Fair and, later, elected to be a part of the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in the energy category. This happened all because of the research that I did, which was through my own curiosity and efforts, but really, due to the mentorship and support that I got from the Elmont community.

“This translated into my work at Harvard, where I decided to study bioengineering, which allowed me to combine my budding interests in engineering with my desire to make an impact on health and medicine. I did research in point of care technology for the past four years, all culminating to my current journey: to pursue an MD/PhD to become a physician scientist.

“This basically means having a foot in medicine and research to fundamentally help transform how we practice medicine in our country, and to reimagine how to make these systems more equitable and just for all people, particularly those who come from underserved patient populations.”

In the future, I’d like to give back to communities nationwide by providing them with research experiences.

“I was blessed to be invited to the White House Science Fair and a Science Talent Search finalist, which is the oldest and most prestigious science competition for high school seniors. I was the only Black person out of all 40 finalists. That was the first time that I really started to understand the general inaccessibility of science and research to people like myself.

“Fast-forward to my time working at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital. I decided to start the TRUST Fellowship (Translational Research for Untapped Science Talent Fellowship), which is focused on exposing students from underrepresented backgrounds to research in inclusive mentoring.

“At the time when I began the TRUST Fellowship, I was working on a COVID-19 project in the lab I was in. COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted underserved communities, like Black folks, socioeconomic disadvantaged folks and other marginalized communities in our society. I felt very empowered as a Black woman from a low-income background working on this research myself and thus wanted to expose more students like myself to this type of work.

“Through the TRUST Fellowship, in the pilot stage, we were able to mentor six different first- and second-year students at Harvard who come from these backgrounds. They worked on COVID-19, neurodegenerative projects and cardiovascular projects. The common theme between these projects is that they are translational, which means that the goal of the research is meant to transform and translate into the way doctors and clinicians provide care for patients.

“Ultimately, the TRUST Fellowship was an opportunity for me to take the knowledge I’ve crystallized as a researcher of about 10 years at that point and give back to students in my Harvard community.

“In the future, I’d like to give back to communities nationwide by providing them with research experiences that can not only introduce them to really cool work, but also hopefully inspire them to — like myself — potentially pursue an MD/PhD, MD, PhD or just paths that are focused on innovation and really reimagining the ways in which we do research and practice medicine to make it more inclusive and equitable for communities that are underserved.”

‘I think these accomplishments speak to the importance of identifying your passions and really just focusing on learning and growing in your passion.’

“That time [during my college search] where I was recognized by a lot of different media outlets was quite an exciting time. It was a time that I couldn’t have necessarily predicted or planned for. Literally to this day, I do not know who nominated me [for Forbes 30 Under 30]. I just got a tweet from someone who works on the selection committee informing me that I was nominated and to DM them to get a link to the application.

“I think these accomplishments speak to the importance of identifying your passions and really just focusing on learning and growing in your passion. For me at the time, it was really understanding more about cement, concrete and specifically developing a better cement seal that can be used for offshore oil wells to prevent horrible oil spills.

“I really dived into my passion and interests and stuck my hands in everything with the desire to really take advantage of the opportunities presented to me — again instilled in me by my Nigerian parents. It led to all these accomplishments, such as admission into all the colleges I applied to, which includes all the eight Ivy League institutions. I was also on BET ‘Black Girls Rock!’ and was a ‘Making A Difference’ or ‘M.A.D. Girl’ awardee. Alongside having all these accomplishments, they further reinforced to me the particular role that God wants me to play in this world, which is to lift as I climb. Because I’ve been pushed out to all these platforms, I’ve been able to connect with so many near peers who are curious about potentially studying engineering, pursuing research, attending an Ivy League school, going to college and pursuing medicine.

“I’ve been able to connect with so many of these people and inspire them because I don’t want to be the only one in these spaces. I don’t want to be the only Black person who’s a Science Talent Search finalist. I don’t want to be one of two Black people graduating with a bachelor of science in bioengineering from Harvard. I don’t want to be the only physician scientist.

“These accomplishments have just given me a platform that has allowed me to connect with and inspire more youth, which I think is very clear with some of the other involvements and things I’ve done since that time.”

Interviewed by Victoria Bell

‘Theater makes me feel like I’m one of the stars on Broadway.’

Holtsville

“I’m a person with autism who loves to do theater. I do so many shows, it’s really entertaining for me. I like to make new friends and spend time with my buddies. My favorite show is ‘Beauty and the Beast’ as Lumiere. Lumiere was my dream role that I’ve played on stage.

“My sister was interested in theater. When we saw ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and ‘Phantom’ on Broadway, she became obsessed with theater. She became an actress, and I decided I had to become involved in theater as well. I’ve been doing this a long time. My first show was Disney’s ‘Alice in Wonderland,’ the junior version. I was a playing card called the Ace of Spades; I was a sixth-grader.

Playing a nasty character is a lot more fun than being the good character.

“Theater makes me feel like I’m one of the stars on Broadway. Every time I stand in front of an audience, I have so much fun dancing and singing and interacting with the audience. Every time I say something funny, I make the audience laugh. I love playing characters that can tell jokes. Also playing a villain, I played Scar in the junior version of ‘The Lion King.’ Playing a nasty character is a lot more fun than being the good character. And I would be excited to play Willy Wonka. Playing a funny character is more fun than playing a serious character.

“I want to make sure everything is perfect, that I don’t mess anything up with my lines. It makes me feel really proud and happy; it makes me more passionate. I write my own songs with the help of my voice teacher, some for my YouTube show, ‘The Thomas the Tank Engine Show.’ It’s my own version of ‘Thomas the Tank Engine.’ It’s actually half for kids and half for adults. I made it more of a musical comedy style. I do my own drawings. Drawing is another passion for me.

“I’m becoming a playwright. My first play is ‘The Holiday Dude.’ It’s about all types of holidays. It’s about a young boy named David who meets a girl named Megan, and they fall in love with each other. I’m hoping to have the play produced. I also have a job: I work at ShopRite in Port Jeff; I work in the bakery. The customers are kind, but sometimes they can be annoying. But I want to keep myself busy. I want to be busy all the time.”

Interviewed by Barbara Schuler