‘In ninth grade, my want for knowledge of history was cultivated by an English teacher who taught us about Black authors.’

Ayanna L. Moore, Roosevelt

“I’ve been interested in history since my seventh-grade gym teacher, Dr. Emily Moore in the Roosevelt School District, talked about what she had done with the civil rights movement and leaders she had met. It was the first time I heard about Black history beyond what you learn in school. To hear somebody who did the work was very appealing.

Being able to preserve and to educate hundreds of people about these historic sites… I’m glad I can be a champion in that.

“In ninth grade, my want for knowledge of history was cultivated by an English teacher who taught us about Black authors. In 12th grade, I began to think about becoming a history teacher. I loved the way my teacher taught participation in government class and broke down who we are as Black Americans. After I graduated college as a history major, I did assistant teaching in Uniondale. But I felt like I needed to see and experience more to be a history teacher.

“Since then, I’ve served in AmeriCorps NCCC Southern Region as a construction team member, where I was able to provide services during the flood of Baton Rouge, facilitate new builds and rehab low-income housing. I received the bronze Congressional Medal and the president’s Volunteer Service Award. I’ve worked as a compliance specialist for FEMA’s Environmental Historic Preservation as a reservist. I received a secretary’s commendation award for my services on the Volunteer Force in collaboration with Customs [and] Border Protection. I joined the Student Conservation Association as a historic preservation team member to help restore Penn Center’s Darrah Hall in South Carolina.

“Currently, I’m a member of Conservation Legacy, serving as a park ranger to places like Fort Washington Park and the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site. Being able to preserve and to educate hundreds of people about these historic sites, especially now when schools are trying to erase Black history, I’m glad I can be a champion in that. I still want to be a history teacher, but I’ll have to go back to school, so for now I’ll do more hands-on work. Meanwhile I had the opportunity to write a biography of my first inspirational teacher, Dr. Moore. It gave me a sense of knowing I can commit to something. She is very big on, if you say you’re going to do something, then do it, so I wasn’t going to let her down.”

Interviewed by Liza Burby

‘I just randomly picked up a camera and started shooting videos, just recording and documenting life.’

Torrel October, Roosevelt

“I was born in Brownsville, Brooklyn. My mom moved us to Long Island for me and my sisters to have a better life. Brownsville wasn’t the best place to be, especially for a black male. A lot of my friends back in Brooklyn are not doing too well. I could thank my mom for moving us to Long Island because I would probably be in the same predicament as them.

“When I was younger, during summer, my parents used to take us away to different countries and spots like amusement parks, just so we won’t be home all the time and to keep us active. My parents sparked my interest of doing different activities in different places when I do have free time. I like to travel a lot, but the times I can’t travel, I like to go out and do different things – which led me to being a tourist in my own city. I’m pretty good at taking videos. I just randomly picked up a camera and started shooting videos, just recording and documenting life. Every place I would go, I would record different things to reflect on.

Every place I would go, I would record different things to reflect on.

“I started @nycsneakylinks during the pandemic, when a lot of restaurants and businesses were closed. On my regular page, @rellysmacks, I would be outside every day doing different things and posting on my story. I was overwhelmed at the amount of people who were interested in the things I would do on my regular page. So, I’m like, ‘Let me just make another page to let people know what’s open and what’s not open’ — basically a New York update. At the time, Long Island was very strict, so they didn’t have many places that were open. But Manhattan and Brooklyn had less rules. So I would go outside and explore New York City. My first video I did blew up. That probably got a hundred thousand views in one day. It originally started with me doing art galleries. Then I soon ventured off into doing restaurants.

“I’m trying to get more corporate things going. I’ve worked with Google and Samsung. I am the filmer, editor and voiceover artist. I’m really into technology, cameras and gadgets. Social media has grown a lot and is new to a lot of people. With these Instagrams and TikToks bringing out different platforms and subdivisions in the app, it makes creating more fun.”

Interviewed by Victoria Bell

‘Ever since I graduated from undergrad, that’s when I picked up my camera and have not stopped.’

Ashe Davis, Roosevelt

“I have always had a camera growing up. My dad had cameras around. We had a lot of photo books, so I feel naturally photography always surrounded me. Around middle school is when I really started picking up a camera. In high school, I was taking pictures for the yearbook or just to have memories.

“My parents got me my very first professional camera probably my sophomore year of college. I picked it up, went outside, took one picture and said, ‘Yeah, this is too hard’ and put it back down. In 2018, my friends were like, ‘You really need to try this out again.’ Ever since I graduated from undergrad, that’s when I picked up my camera and have not stopped.

Life is too short to not go after what you want.

“When I first started photography, I was just doing portraits, taking pictures of my friends and getting anyone in front of my camera, until eventually it developed into a business. I was not expecting that to happen at all. It just came about, and I started getting more clients. I have learned to put myself out there more. I started reaching out and emailing companies. I have had opportunities associated with MTV ‘Fresh Out,’ New York Fashion Week, Roc Nation, Femme It Forward, SiriusXM, [the] WNBA draft and more. You can’t just sit and wait for opportunities to come to you. The worst thing somebody could tell you is no.

“This year, I have been focusing a lot on putting out more personal projects, making my art more meaningful so that anytime somebody sees it, they can get a message out of it. I want to break more into the television and film industry as well as get my feet planted more in the music and sports industry now that I got a taste of it. I feel I’m very versatile when it comes to photography.

“I am also an occupational therapist for the Department of Education in the Bronx. I don’t do photography full time. I wear different hats, but while it’s important to have the career that you’re in, you need to fuel your passions at the same time. Don’t let work get in the way of your passions. If you can balance both, just try your best to do it, because life is too short to not go after what you want. Just go for whatever is on your mind. Maybe that crazy idea might be something we need in the world.”

Interviewed by Victoria Bell

‘My experiences in college helped me realize that I enjoy being passionate about work. I respect that in other people, too.’

Roosevelt

“When I was graduating from Holy Trinity High School, I was trying to think practically, so I thought I wanted to be a computer engineer. I had been told that engineering was a field in which the world had many jobs. I had very good grades, so I never doubted my ability and capacity to learn. I had a lot of faith that this was what my job would be, and everything seemed to line up for my future.

“Initially, I went to Manhattan College, where I was given a mentor whose profession was in cybersecurity. He told me that after college he couldn’t get a job in computer engineering and found that he liked cybersecurity. He roped me in with that, so I decided to transfer to the University at Albany, where they have a cybersecurity program. Then I had an epiphany in the second semester of my sophomore year. I realized I wasn’t liking that anymore, either. My grades were slipping. My adviser sent me to the school therapy system to help me with my depressive state. This helped me see that I had a class in my first semester that I loved, and when I no longer had it, the crash happened. I had only taken acting because I needed an elective! My grades were great that semester. I decided to change to a theater major. I’ve been having a better experience ever since!

My new philosophy is that if you are passionate about something, you will succeed in it.

“I think I’m an empathetic person, and I have an ability to understand people, which is important in acting. Theater allows me to experience that on a larger scale while giving me the opportunity to evoke emotion. You need to understand many characters. I find it fun and I think I have a natural talent for it. I’ve learned that I also enjoy working in technical areas of theater. It’s making me a handier individual, and now I appreciate organization and collaboration.

“My experiences in college helped me realize that I enjoy being passionate about work. I respect that in other people, too. My new philosophy is that if you are passionate about something, you will succeed in it. You’re the only person who is going to be waking up doing what you have chosen to pursue. When you make these big changes in your life, everyone else will have their opinions. Regardless of what they say, the only person that is in control in that moment is you.”

Interviewed by Iris Wiener

‘Jamaica will always be my home, but now Long Island really feels like home.’

Roosevelt

“I’m originally from Port Antonio, a small town in Jamaica. At age 6, I started getting sick all the time. The doctors gave me a penicillin shot but didn’t test to see if I was allergic. It turned out I was. I ended up in the hospital and a wheelchair.

“I found myself constantly getting sick. No one knew why. Eventually I was diagnosed with rheumatic fever, and the virus went untreated for so long it damaged two heart valves.

“I had family in the U.S. who work in health care and spoke to management at North Shore University Hospital about a cardiac program with St. Jude’s. They managed to get me there to have the surgery.

“I was in the operating room the next day, got out of the hospital about a week after and ended up staying with family in Roosevelt during the healing process. I missed home, but I also found things I loved for the first time.

I saw snow for the first time, thinking it was rain, then said out loud, ‘What is that?’

“I really liked going to the mall. I tried a Tootsie Roll there, which I had never had before. It was amazing! They didn’t have that in Jamaica at the time. I remember going shopping, and I got this cool sweater, but couldn’t stop wondering, ‘What am I going to do with this when I get back to Jamaica?’

“I saw snow for the first time, thinking it was rain, then said out loud, ‘What is that?’ About 10 years after going home, I was contacted by the U.S. embassy, who said my papers went through to move back. It turns out my dad, who is a U.S. citizen, had filed papers for me when I was 17, and it took many years to go through. It was good timing. I was in my 20s, and at that point, I didn’t feel like Jamaica was working out.

“I moved back to Roosevelt again in 2016. I felt like it was a meant-to-be thing. I had options to live in NYC or Florida, but I wanted to come back here. I’ll be taking the citizenship test soon.

“I work across the street from the mall, which I still love. Whenever I get stressed, I think, ‘Let me just take a walk there.’ It reminds me of the first time I was here.

“When I first came here as a kid, I remember thinking, ‘I just want to go back home,’ but now when I say I want to go home, I just want to go to my bed here on Long Island.

“Jamaica will always be my home, but now Long Island really feels like home.”

Interviewed by Ian J. Stark