Privilege of Education

Melina Y., a Volunteer at Bayside High School, shares the life-changing moment of speaking with a senior.

I didn’t expect much that day—just another visit, another manicure. But the moment I sat down, Janevia looked at me and said, “You remind me of my daughter. Not because you look like her, but because you care.” It caught me off guard. No one had said something like that to me before—so simply, without a second thought. We talked about everything from her favorite lipstick shade to how she used to be a seamstress in Brooklyn. She told me she never got to go to college, not because she wasn’t smart, but because “life was louder than dreams back then.”

That line stuck with me. It made me think about the things I take for granted—opportunities, time, the ability to choose. I used to view college as pressure, as stress, as just the next step. After that visit, I started to see it as a privilege. GG visits like that one reminded me that people don’t just want to be taken care of—they want to be remembered, listened to, respected. Janevia didn’t change my career path—she solidified it. I want to enter healthcare with more than just skill. I want to bring presence. The kind she gave me in just one afternoon.