Passion in Action

Jasmine Cardi

I am so excited to share that our student from the January 2013 post Encouragement has earned her citizenship! She studied hard each day for 60 days and went back in and passed her interview! We are all so proud of her. After her ceremony she came to the library and shared her experiences with her classmates. In this photo our student (center) is with the judge (to the right) who presided over her ceremony and Sangeeta (to the left) one of our interns who helped her study countless hours and attended the ceremony with her. This is truly an inspiring story of what hard work and perseverance will do regardless of age, race or other obstacles that one may face. Hers is a story of hope and of hard work paying off. Congratulations!

Jasmine Cardi

Each day I am faced with many rewarding experiences at my job. Sometimes I am faced with sad experiences. Today was one of those days. One of our students who had been studying so hard for her citizenship interview and test failed the speaking  portion of the interview. This woman has attended every class, met with tutors, and has studied at home diligently. She knows the answer to all 100 questions. She can read and write in English with proficiency. Her trouble is with speaking English. She is an older Albanian woman who needs to learn English as part of her citizenship requirements. Like so many her story is one of loss. She was widowed years ago and is here with only her sister. She is one of the sweetest women you will ever meet. Humble and thankful for all of our help she greets us daily with a big hug and a piece of candy or chocolate. For the holidays she knit us all a scarf.

picstitch.jpgHer interview was yesterday. She came to study with us two hours before her appointed time. Although we were concerned with her speaking skills we encouraged her to do her best and not be too nervous. We patiently awaited to hear back how her experience went. She came in to see us today and tells us, “Thank you, I passed everything except the speaking.” Immediately she tears up and I give her a hug. She then sees my coworker, Jennifer, and shares the news with her. She starts crying and Jennifer hugs her and says, “I am so proud of you. You passed the questions, the writing and the reading. We will continue to help you with the English conversation.” She continued to give her encouragement and more importantly acknowledgement of what she had accomplished. I felt as if I were witnessing a private moment and almost felt like stepping away, but then I decided to snap a quick picture and share her story.  She has 60 days to improve her English conversation and will have another chance at passing the proficiency level needed to obtain citizenship.

Judy Wyman Kelly
 
Last week I witnessed a “sweet bridge” moment at The American Place (TAP).
 
A few weeks ago I started tutoring a Chinese woman who is temporarily living in Hartford with her adult son while he completes an internship. She is feeling very isolated as she knows no English and her son is gone all day at work. I speak Mandarin Chinese, which is why I was brought on board to meet with her weekly to provide a bit of English tutoring and also some companionship. Hartford does not have a very big Chinese community.
 
I was working at TAP when a Chinese woman walked in looking for some books in Chinese. She lives in Simsbury and although she does speak English well she also feels isolated and has had a hard time getting to know people. It is difficult to be a foreigner! On a whim, I called my student and asked if she wanted to meet someone from China. She came right over to TAP and the two of them hit it off.
 
Coincidentally, another Chinese patron arrived shortly after the two women sat down. Overhearing their animated conversation in Chinese, he went over and introduced himself. He also lives in Hartford, knows no English, and is feeling isolated.
 
When I left work at 2:30 the three of them, strangers to each other 90 minutes prior, were still engaged in animated conversation. As I said goodbye the woman from Simsbury said, “Today you were a sweet bridge. Thank you for introducing us all!”

Jasmine Cardi


Me trying to catch a snowflake

Sometimes, we perform random acts of kindness without even knowing it. You don’t know if the person you are helping has had a horrible day and your smile, patience or help can be either the breaking or salvation point of their day. If I had to come up with a statement that describes my personal ethic (not just my work ethic) it would be: treat others as you’d like to be treated. This is a pretty simple concept. We learn this early on in life. It is so easy to forget this sometimes. Today I was reminded of this very statement. I am going to share my experience with one of our citizenship class students, Maria, who recently became a naturalized citizen. Maria came into the library today even though she is done taking classes with us. She has learned English and recently became a U.S. citizen. I helped her throughout the process, giving her information, setting her up with classes, tutors, asking how she was doing, and checking on the health of her husband who was very ill. Most of all I gave her encouragement. She was very nervous to practice her English and to take her test. She greets me today with a big hug and a thank you card. She tells me, “Thank you Jasmine for all of your help. I am so grateful. You have no idea how much your help meant to me. Last week while at church when the Father asked if we’d like to pray for someone I said I want to pray for Jasmine.  I told them you were not sick and did not need anything. I just wanted to pray for you because of your kindness in helping me and in helping others. I see how you help everyone who comes here and for that I am grateful. Even though I am done with classes I know you are here and if I need anything I know where to find you.” Beyond humbled and teary eyed I gave her a hug and said thank you. It is very rare when I am left speechless. I almost did not share this story as I don’t want to “toot my own horn.” After thinking about this hours later I felt it was a good story to share because far too often we hear either what we are doing wrong or nothing at all. I’d like this story to inspire others to simply treat others as you’d like to be treated. We never know when the roles will be reversed and it is us on the opposite end.

Jasmine Cardi
 

You know the warm fuzzy feeling you get when you see a crackling fireplace? A mug of hot chocolate? Warm chocolate chip cookies? Today I felt that as I witnessed some of our ESOL students see snow for the first time. They were on the computer doing a lesson when a woman looks over and says, “Wow! It’s snowing.” Two women in the class had never seen snow before in their lives. They walked over to the window and were so happy and amazed to see the flurries. A few students, including the teacher who is from Peru, began sharing stories with one another about the first time they experienced snow. It was quite amazing to witness!

Getting to Zero

Jasmine Cardi

On Friday the Hartford Public Library had its first Staff Development Day. All of the libraries in Hartford were closed and all the staff met at the main branch. Our morning started off very intensely with Andy Stefanovich. Simply put he is a motivational speaker who has worked with many of the top leading companies in the world to inspire them to think creatively. Andy Stefanovich is Chief Curator and Provocateur at Prophet, a strategic brand and marketing consultancy. In 2 hours he shared a great deal of information with us. Two of the things that struck me the most were about passion and relaxing. If we really think about it we spend most of our time at work. If we can think of something we are passionate about and dissect it to find what are the qualities of our passion then we can apply that to our work environment.(Passion in action) For me I love helping people. Each day I get a chance to help many people that walk into the library. The idea of knowing what characteristics make up your passion and being able to find it in other things is great. It makes me think about things in a different perspective. (Which Andy also spoke about in great detail) The second thing that struck me was getting to zero. Getting to zero refers to getting to your relaxing point. I am not referring to getting a massage relaxed. I mean, that is great but is not likely to happen on a daily basis. What I think Andy meant was doing something that helps you release the stress of the day and have a little “you” time to regroup or just clear your mind. Helping people takes a lot of energy. Regardless of the weather, how you are feeling or other stress factors you have a task to perform once those doors open. You are ON and the show must go on. Without getting to zero sharing your passion, or enjoying your passion, might become difficult. For me, getting to zero sometimes includes a trip to First & Last Bakery before I start my day. I sit alone and enjoy a quiet breakfast and a hot cup of coffee. These 30 minutes before I start work are very important to me. It allows me to clear my mind and prepare for the day ahead. What Andy shared with us seemed like basic things that many take for granted. It was nice to be reminded how these small things we can easily take for granted can make or break our day. We do not need to sacrifice our passion or ourselves for our job. The idea is if you find your passion within your job it will not only benefit you but also the people you encounter as well. I encourage you to read Andy’s book Look at More. I know I will be reading it. I also will not forget the 2 back-to-basic principles I’d like to explore and expand on: passion in action and getting to zero. This was an experience I’m sure never to forget and am grateful to have been apart of.

Jasmine Cardi

“We the People”…such popular and powerful words. Not only is this phrase the first 3 words in the Constitution, it also hangs in the American Place at our library. There are glass panels that hang in front of the windows to reflect these very words onto the ground once the sun shines through. For months I have been curious to see if it would actually work. Finally this Monday I was able to see the glass panels in action! Today I was reminded of this very phrase this morning as one of our ESL students fainted in class. Her classmates were so worried about her even though they could barely communicate in the same language. This poor woman who had a bad reaction to her medication had no one we could call to accompany her to the hospital. One of our interns volunteered to go with her to the hospital and stayed with her until she was stable and comfortable. Many different people united for the same outcome-this woman’s immediate well being. The woman who fainted is from Morocco, the man who helped her and waited with her until the ambulance came is from Ecuador, the intern who went to the hospital with her is from Nepal, our program director who helped the rest of the class remain calm is from Iran, and today’s ESL class is made up of people from over 21 countries. “‘We the People” could not fit more appropriately. Kindness and concern are universal emotions that transcend a language barrier. In this case, “We the People” stick together.