‘I always try to communicate how blessed we are as human beings.’

Aquebogue

“I was 15 when I came to this country from South Korea. In 1975, there were very few Asian people in Newburgh, New York, and I didn’t know American culture. I couldn’t speak English; we didn’t have ESL. They just threw me in the classroom. I went through a lot of culture shock. I learned to exchange cultures. Art has been great at introducing that. I always think, ‘How can I mix the two cultures?’

“Lately, I’ve been working with bamboo. We grew up around bamboo as a decorative item, a functional item or even as food. When I moved to Aquebogue five years ago, we had a property next to us with a lot of bamboo growing, and all I heard was how bad bamboo was — it’s invasive, it’s not allowed. I realized how different cultures perceive bamboo. In my work, people see how cultural differences shape how we look at things.

That has been my mission besides teaching, to introduce other cultures to Long Island.

“Bamboo is like depression. When it’s covered with snow, it bends over with the weight, but once the snow melts, it stands back up. That’s a beautiful symbol, how flexible we human beings are. I always try to communicate how blessed we are as human beings. I think that came from coming to the United States. The reason my mother took me and my four brothers to the U.S. is we were so poor in Korea.

“My father died when I was 5, and my mother tried to survive in Korea. Korea has advanced so much since then. It was totally Third World in the 1970s. No matter how many problems we have, America is a wonderful country. You can still talk freely. If you work hard, you can go someplace. I went to college at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, then grad school at Pratt Institute in New York.

“I’ve been a college professor of art for over 30 years. In September, I’ll have a big show in Seoul, Korea, and then Tokyo, Japan. I drove a taxi cab in the city for about six years trying to make it as an artist. That’s when I learned about different types of humans, talking to different passengers. That taught me to treat each of my students as individuals; I don’t try to group them. That has been my mission besides teaching, to introduce other cultures to Long Island. As an artist, I’m always interested to get a response to how other people see it, and that’s how the dialogue starts.”

Interviewed by Rachel O’Brien – Morano

‘You want to give every cat an opportunity to thrive and be healthy and be a house cat if they’re social.’

Aquebogue

“I moved to Aquebogue over 20 years ago. We were walking up and down the block, and we said, ‘Gosh, there’s lots of cats around here.’ Neighbors said other elderly neighbors died and their kids let out their cats who weren’t altered. Trap, neuter and return to the colony became an obsession. I sort of got hooked. You want to give every cat an opportunity to thrive and be healthy and be a house cat if they’re social. There are hundreds of feral cat colonies on Long Island. People think they’re wildlife, but they’re not. These cats were adopted and never altered, and they were released and had litters and had to fend for themselves. The cruelty, the unnecessary abandonment, the sickness you see when you’re helping these animals, weighs on you.

I love being able to do this and showing others how to make a difference.

“We have to deal with businesses that don’t want us on the property. Residents want them removed or even worse, killed. I grew up loving animals; they were a means of therapy for me. I can’t imagine people wanting to harm them. My parents were immigrants to the U.S. in 1972 and worked hard for my siblings and me to achieve our dreams. My father passed away this October, and he was my biggest cheerleader for the rescue. He knew how important animal rescue was to me. If you’re not all in, you can’t do TNR. You need to trap every animal that’s in the colony, get them tested, treated and recuperated. You don’t want to do wrong by the animal if you don’t recuperate them properly.

“In 2015, my husband, my friends and I started a rescue group, the North Fork Country Kids. I had moved from Nassau and became this country kid. I ended up TNRing about 200 cats near where I live. We deal with cats hit by a car, or that have their legs severed. People don’t see it. Their assumption is, ‘They’ll fend for themselves.’ But that’s not happening. They’re searching for food and shelter; they’re suffering. I’m an English teacher in West Islip. There’s an uplifting part to it. I’ve had students of mine get involved, and now they’re part of the TNR world. These kids see firsthand what’s happening with these animals. I’m all about education. How do we prevent abuse and neglect? I love being able to do this and showing others how to make a difference.”

Interviewed by Rachel O’Brien – Morano