-Ms. Michelle -- A Good Life

By: JC

Last month I got a chance to interview Ms. Michelle, our librarian, about her life story. At first this interview really didn’t mean anything to me besides a grade, but after I did the interview, I took it seriously.

Ms. Michelle was born in the Philippines located in Southeast Asia. Her first language was Tagalog. She had a happy childhood and was surrounded by her family. It was a wonderful childhood,” she said. She played volleyball during her school days and it seemed like she liked it a lot.

When she was younger, her parents told her that education is the only thing that she can inherit from them. Her advice would be to take your education seriously.

She attended Polytechnic University of the Philippines and received a Bachelor’s Degree in Library and Information Science. She took her Masters in Library and Information Science at University of the Philippines Diliman. Ms. Michelle began her career as a Library Media Specialist 15 years ago . She has been at Kean High for six years.

When asked how high schools in the Virgin Islands were compared to the Philippines, she said they were not the same. “Classes in Philippine public schools hold 50 to 60 students with one teacher.” She was proud to say that student behavior there is not a problem at all. Class officers are in charge, and when teachers are absent, students diligently work on their assignments or projects.

Ms. Michelle is a happy single parent. She moved to the Virgin Islands, thousands of miles from her home, to work for a better life for her family and now for her daughter, Maia Mikaela.

She enjoys the beaches in the Virgin Islands. “I love to see the world, I also love nature,” she said. Her outlook on life is “Life is so beautiful; it is a bit challenging, but God is always there.”

Ms. Michelle is a Roman Catholic. “I love my ministry,” she said. She was a youth leader and she took it very seriously. Most of her family members are serving the church. Being a youth leader led her to World Youth Day 2000 in Rome, Italy.

I paused for second then I asked her if her life here in the Virgin Islands turned out the way she wanted it to. She stated, “At first no.” She later said it’s moving on the right track because of her faith and because God never gave up on her. “My first three years were very hard, but thanks to God and to all the people who helped me.”

Her favorite type of music is Gospel music and listening to the gospel songs in her language help her-four-year-old daughter learn the Filipino language called Tagalog.

After my interview, I felt good after hearing what life was like for Ms. Michelle and what her challenges were. I feel that the people of the Virgin Islands shouldn’t discriminate against other people, and we shouldn’t stereotype people that we don’t know because it turned out that Ms. Michelle is a good person.

She came to the Virgin Islands for her family. She is trying to build a good life for her daughter and help her family back at home in the Philippines. And for that, I thank Ms. Michelle for giving me an opportunity to interview her and for sharing her interesting life story with me.