‘As a Black female business leader, I’ve learned the keys to success consist of networking, research, perseverance and resilience.’

Sharon Solomon, Baldwin

“My inspiration is my dad. He successfully migrated from Liberia and obtained a PhD in chemistry from Columbia University. He started Devonque in a small warehouse in Jamaica, Queens in 1972. He developed scents for brands such as Tide, Close-Up toothpaste and a cologne for Muhammad Ali.

“I grew up in a laboratory, and it inspires me to do what I do today with candles. My dad taught me the power of scent. An aroma can elicit memories, enhance moods or set a tone, depending on the occasion. It revitalizes our senses and makes us remember a time when we were happy. Candles and fragrance creation are my passion.

“My dad was always about family and community as well. As an immigrant, he kept our doors open for family members who came here for opportunity too. My love of fragrances and natural products runs deep in our company DNA for generations.

Looking for a way to help, I developed a specific candle line, Candles of Hope, that donates half the proceeds of the sale to charity.

“In 2022, we developed a platform using our candles that helps solve the problem with grassroots and nonprofit organizations lacking funding to do the great work they accomplish. Along with leading my family business, I’m the program coordinator for the runaway homeless youth shelter in Nassau County for the Family & Children’s Association. Time and again, the needs outweigh the funding. Organizations that do great work are constantly fundraising to provide services.

“Looking for a way to help, I developed a specific candle line, Candles of Hope, that donates half the proceeds of the sale to charity. It’s 100% virtual. All the organizations have to do is go to the website and sign up.

“I’ve been lucky enough to partner with over 200 organizations. It makes me feel good to know that I’m bridging a gap between funding and the work these programs do. We feel our platform will continue its rapid growth.

“As a Black female business leader, I have learned the keys to success consist of networking, research, perseverance and resilience. There are many resources available that can really take your business to the next level. You have to do your research. Knowing my dad is looking down on me while others look up to me pushes me to keep our legacy going.”

Interviewed by Liza N. Burby

‘One of the things that is very much on my mind is Alzheimer’s and dementia, so I’m trying very hard to use my mind and have a purpose in life.’

Herb Munshine, Great Neck

“It’s like sunshine with an ‘M,’ I always used to tell my students. I taught high school English for 58 years, the first two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Sierra Leone, West Africa, then 30 years in the Bronx, seven years in Queens, the last 19 years at Great Neck South High School. I retired 22 months ago; that’s when I started getting serious about writing.

“One of the things that is very much on my mind is Alzheimer’s and dementia, so I’m trying very hard to use my mind and have a purpose in life. That explains why I write poetry and essays. I have been published in magazines and Newsday, as well as a site that specializes in poetry about baseball. At this point they have published 79 of my poems, and they’re considering two more. About two weeks ago, the editors voted me into their hall of fame. There are about 250 poets on this site, and I’m the fifth person put into their hall of fame.

I have a lot of poems about seeing life from the point of view of someone who’s 82, lessons I’ve learned, opinions I have.

“I’m not looking to make any money; I’m looking for my views to get recognized. I write on a variety of topics. One of my favorites is baseball, since that’s one of the things I’m most successful at. I have another section where I write poems about my two years in Sierra Leone. That always brings back fond memories. I have a lot of poems about seeing life from the point of view of someone who’s 82, lessons I’ve learned, opinions I have.

“Originally this website began as something I was writing for my grandchildren, so after I’m gone — and I don’t plan on being gone soon — they would have something to look at that would tell them more about me. Grandchildren don’t think about their grandparents as kids, so they don’t know about a lot, like how I tried out for the New York Yankees as an ambidextrous pitcher — I didn’t make it. But they’re not going to know that unless I write about it. It’s anything I think they can learn about me. I want to be engaged. I want to be thinking about things. I want to involve myself in as many things as possible.”

Interviewed by Barbara Schuler

‘Doctors told me I had a 0 to 1 percent chance of ever conceiving a child without the assistance of some kind of medicine.’

Ashley Antonacci-Martini, Ridge

“It’s been about a decade of ups and downs with my fertility. I have a very complicated story. I’ve had countless procedures, including eight intrauterine inseminations, one invitro fertilization egg retrieval, three dilation and curettages, three C-sections, and two polyp-removal surgeries. Throughout my life, I’ve lost 10 angels – five in my body and five in an IVF lab. Doctors told me I had a 0 to 1 percent chance of ever conceiving a child without the assistance of some kind of medicine. It took over a year to get pregnant with my first, Gianna, and I had two IUIs before achieving the pregnancy.

“After about a year and a half, my husband and I wanted to have another child. We tried six IUIs, got pregnant twice and, unfortunately, lost them both. My doctor said that my numbers reflected I was going into early menopause. I was in my early 30s.

“I took an anti-Müllerian hormone test, and it showed a low ovarian reserve, which is a low egg supply. Basically, my body was reflecting an older age. I didn’t want to believe it. I thought this can’t be. This is when we turned to IVF rounds, but they weren’t successful. It pretty much shattered my heart.

“The injections were very painful. These needles were enormous, and my husband would have to inject them into me. You have to also go on birth control before you start the IVF cycle so it alters your natural period. Your hormones are all over the place, and then you have to go through a surgery. They put you under anesthesia and take a needle through your abdomen to extract the egg. We ended up losing all the embryos, so they were never transferred to my uterus.

“I was thankful they weren’t lost in my body this time. Miscarriages are heartbreaking to go through, but I did still lose my baby. At this point, I felt defeated and decided to give everything over to God.”

My body couldn’t take all of the miscarriages, surgeries and injections.

“My husband and I turned to God to help us through the turmoil. I prayed and prayed. I changed my diet and started seeing an acupuncturist. I got baptized as an adult, and a few days later, I found out I was pregnant naturally. I couldn’t believe it! We had a miracle. We were going to the doctor, and the baby was growing well, but then suddenly, the baby’s heartbeat stopped. The doctors blamed my eggs. It felt like my fault. Through the pain, I found another specialist. He took 40 tubes of blood, but we found out I had a blood clotting disorder called thrombophilia. I was also positive for the heterozygous MTHFR [methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase] trait. This mutation can sometimes affect women’s ability to clot blood during pregnancy.

“I have my degree in biology and education, and I used to be a public-school teacher working in the home-school science department. I knew I had to stop working. My body couldn’t take all of the miscarriages, surgeries and injections. I had family telling me it was too much on my body. God kept telling me to keep going and there was another baby out there for me. I was put on blood-thinning medication so my body wouldn’t reject the fetus, and my blood would actually clot during my cycle.

“Fast-forward six months, and the doctors wanted to take my levels again to see how fertile I was. I was so nervous. I kept avoiding it. The doctor got the results and called me. He said he never usually calls himself, but he wanted to be the one to tell me that I had the fertility of a woman my age! He said this rarely happens and that somebody must be looking out for me. I knew he was right.

“I was pregnant with my second daughter, Madelyn Grace. I did have some complications about 16 to 18 weeks in. The doctor noticed microscopic blood clots, even while on the blood thinners. My placenta started deteriorating during that pregnancy because of the clotting. Then we found out she had a two-vessel umbilical cord when she was supposed to have three. We didn’t know if she was going to have any deformities or any other issues. I kept praying and, thankfully, she was totally healthy. A beautiful girl made by God’s grace. She’s a very vivacious 5-year-old girl now.”

We thought it was impossible to get pregnant naturally. It was a pure miracle.

“My third child – oh boy, was he a storm. I was able to get pregnant, but the issue was keeping the pregnancies. I got pregnant again and noticed some bleeding a few weeks in. I was still on blood thinners, and I kept passing enormous clots. The pain got so severe. Something was wrong. I’ve had miscarriages before, but this didn’t feel like the others. Having a miscarriage is so emotional, and this was the saddest moment of my life. It’s so ingrained in my mind because I thought it was a normal blood clot since I was passing so many the size of large rocks, but it wasn’t. It left a mental scarring.

“I got to the doctor, and they said my sack was empty. I was rushed to the emergency room, and my uterus was seriously infected. They told my husband that the infection is so bad that I might not come home to my family. I had an emergency dilation and curettage to remove infected tissue and, by a miracle, I was able to go home.

“My heart was still shattered. I was so broken, but I felt like there was another baby out there for us. I just couldn’t explain it. I didn’t want to do anything medical at that point. I put it in God’s hands.

“Fast-forward a bit, and I started to get horrible stomach pains during Christmas dinner. It felt like somebody was stabbing me. I was an EMT for many years before all of this, so I never liked to call for an ambulance, but I told my husband to call one. I couldn’t walk. My gallbladder was full of stones. I was septic. Again. That was twice in a year that I became septic.

“They were checking my blood and they were like, ‘By the way, you’re pregnant.’ I was crying and fumbling to get my phone to call my husband. We thought it was impossible to get pregnant naturally. It was a pure miracle. I had to have surgery, and the next day I was allowed to leave. I was rushed in on Christmas night, and by the next afternoon, I was at my daughter’s birthday party.

“During that pregnancy, I refused all testing. I told them the pregnancy was totally faith-based. Even if we found out there was something genetically wrong with the baby, it wouldn’t have mattered to us. My son, Antonio, came into the world by storm. He’s a little over a year now.”

We have to remember that there’s always a rainbow after every storm.

“I met a wonderful pastor and started to do ministry work. I wanted to do something meaningful after going through all those trials and tribulations. I started doing a newsletter for the pastor that I was working with. I gave a testimony to share with others. I did all the training and became a minister. I want to share my story with other women and try to bless other people’s lives. We have to remember that there’s always a rainbow after every storm.

“I never gave up. There was always hope. With God, anything is possible. He looks for those zero- to one-percenters to guide. Science is also important. Nobody should be ashamed to have to use IVF or any medication to have a child. I wish doctors didn’t throw around so many blanket statements because it really takes a toll on the woman and places blame on her.

“Everyone’s so quick to blame the egg and the woman with accusations like, ‘You need to lose weight,’ or ‘You’re too thin,’ etc. Men have a role in this as well, and there isn’t enough research on sperm. The blame is put on the woman, and that can create rifts in marriages. There is so much emotional pain and disappointment in a relationship when a couple is struggling with infertility. It’s important to remain a joint unit and lean on each other.

“My husband is my best friend. He has always been my rock. We’ve been together for 20 years and married for 12. We were high school sweethearts. I met him at 16 years old, and now I’m 36. If we can get through this, we can get through anything. My husband is the love of my life. He is an unbelievably amazing man.

“Of course, I also had my family around, and they were there for emotional support. I have a big family that loves watching my children. My sisters and relatives are always there and would step in immediately when there was an emergency and with no questions asked. Struggling with infertility is really a journey that others can’t help you with. You’re so stuck in your mind over all the trauma and all the pain that no matter what anybody says, it’s just not going to take root in your mind. God had been watching out for my husband and me and provided us with beautiful children.”

Interviewed by Melanie Gulbas

‘I take a lot of pride in what I do. I like helping people, and I do feel like this job is about helping people.’

Amanda Foster, East Northport

“I always wanted a civil service job. I worked in retail for six years, and I took a bunch of civil service tests. I took the Postal Service test and they called me back. So then I went further with the orientation, the interviews, and they said, ‘You’re good to go. We want you to work for us.’

“I spent a lot of time in East Northport growing up, and now that’s my route. I have 299 stops, which is a shorter route. I’ve had as many as 800 stops before.

“As a kid, it was so exciting getting mail. I have a friend that’s still obsessed with the post office. It’s even more important now because no one writes letters anymore. It doesn’t seem like a big gesture, but it is to take the time out to pick the card, to physically write and to send it out.

People enjoy seeing a friendly face, and they look forward to seeing their mail carrier.

“Christmas, you see a lot of red and green in the mail. Then you see Mother’s Day is a lot of pink. Then I know someone’s birthday coming up because I can tell by the different cards. I love seeing that because now it’s so easy to just text our friends. We rarely write letters.

“I watch kids grow up and, at the same time, I’m watching another person pass away. I’m delivering your wedding invitation and other important milestones. I am watching the circle of life. It’s crazy and so beautiful. I feel so connected and part of all of it.

“My mind shifts constantly throughout the day because there are so many different people in all stages of life. I’ll never forget, last year I had a customer, he was 101. He just got really sick, and he just declined. I remember I was delivering, and the house next door got a new trampoline. I remember literally standing there on the other side of the street and watching these young people jumping around, and then their neighbor is getting ready to transition to hospice.

“People enjoy seeing a friendly face, and they look forward to seeing their mail carrier. It’s the only career where we’re there at your door every day. I take a lot of pride in what I do. I like helping people, and this job is about helping people. I’m civil servant; it’s a service. I think a lot of people relate to that. I feel like it’s a jackpot. I like being outdoors. I get my exercise; I’m interacting with people.”

Interviewed by Maggie Rose Melito