Lessons in working my way through college

For these Act 2 readers, the good old college days meant working unglamorous jobs -- sometimes two or three at a time -- to pay for tuition, books and other essentials. But there's no bellyaching from these folks who say what they learned was priceless.

Escaping segregation

My family was very poor in Florida. So, during college, I worked at school, cleaning up in the cafeteria and the kitchen once the cooks finished.

Each summer, I'd come to work at upstate Rockland State Hospital because it wasn't as segregated in New York as Florida was at that time. The jobs I had paid for clothes, books and helped with my tuition, along with my scholarships. Most of my time was for working or studying, so I didn't have much time for pleasure. I wanted to go to college, and my parents wanted me to go because, in Florida, there was nothing I could do except housekeeping, or work in the hospital, or take care of somebody else's children. I wanted more, and my parents wanted more for me, especially my mom.

My mother was my inspiration and a stalwart in my life. I did not want to stay there and just be a vegetable. I was dying to get to college and become a doctor. We just didn't have the money for it, and I had to make sacrifices to do it, but at least I did get into the medical profession, and I still enjoy it. After graduating from Florida A&M University, I became a certified/registered dietitian. I've also completed a master's in business administration at Adelphi University and then I went to Hofstra University to certify myself as a chemistry teacher.

I learned that if you really want to do something, you will do it. But you have to sacrifice. If you put yourself into it and you really work hard, you can accomplish it. That knowledge was especially helpful to me when I became the first African-American elected to the Hempstead Town Board in 1999.

-- DOROTHY GOOSBY, Hempstead

Dad had a plan

In June 1961, I was 17 and graduating from Syosset High School. I had always been a worker as a young man . . . Newsday paperboy, grocery store stock boy, gas pump jockey, etc. I remember having to get "work papers" to do some of these jobs because of my age.

Anyway, here I was with an acceptance to start St. John's University at the Hillcrest campus in Jamaica in September. This would normally be very exciting except I had no funds for tuition or to buy a car to commute. My parents both worked, and money was very tight.

Well, my dad worked out a plan where I would work for a year, save my earnings and defer my entrance until the following year, and I did just that, working for the Nassau County Department of Public Works, installing traffic control signs. It was tough work, busting concrete, digging holes, mixing concrete and installing the signs. I worked with some really good fellows and learned a lot about teamwork.

That year of full-time work gave me a great start financially, but I knew it would not be enough to carry me for a four-year program, so I remained a full-time day student at St. John's, worked continuously and yes, took some loans, until I graduated in June 1966.

I worked as a clerk in a drugstore (the owner, Joe Dougherty was a prince of a man) and at the local gas station. One summer, I added a third job with the Town of Oyster Bay Department of Sanitation (a great bunch of guys) and also took an evening Shakespeare course, but it all worked out.

Was it tough? You bet! I had to study every free moment. The course load was heavy but I had a goal -- get that bachelor's degree. Along the way, I learned some valuable life lessons.

I have no doubt that these jobs gave me a deep appreciation of the value of a dollar, setting goals and never giving up! They also solidified the work ethic that I practiced throughout my career: show up, focus on the job to be done, manage income and expenses, and provide the best customer service that I could.

I recently retired after a 45-year career in aerospace financial management with the Grumman and Telephonics Corporations (two fine companies).

To this day I thank my dad, Joseph V. Hickey, for his creativity in making sure that his son would have a chance to get that college education.

--JOE HICKEY, Port Jefferson

Washing pots and modeling

I was born in 1921 and experienced the Great Depression. There was no money to send me to college, so the college I picked was in Colorado because the tuition was low, and I was told I could work my way through. There was no thought about flying there, so it had to be the train or bus. Train cost was $43. Bus cost, $26. I took the bus.

I left at 10 p.m. Three nights and two days later, I arrived in Colorado. No job, no place to stay, no friends. I arrived one month before school started so I could look for a job and get settled. Through the college personnel office, I was given the address of a student boardinghouse. They needed help in the kitchen so I was able to work for my board, although I did have to pay $6 per month for my room.

During the first year, I also worked 20 hours a month in the personnel office for 35 cents an hour under the National Youth Administration program, and at a supermarket on Saturdays, from noon to 10 p.m. for $2.50.

During the holidays I got a job at the variety store and was paid 25 cents an hour. For 50 cents an hour during the school year, I also posed for an art class.

After the first year, I got a job working in the kitchen of the girls' dorm washing dishes and big pots and pans in exchange for room and board at the boys' dorm. Fortunately, I had that job until I graduated.

I learned to be self-reliant, to work hard to get what I wanted, to be disciplined, to get along with people and to make the most of what I had. I did not feel underprivileged, nor did I feel that the world owed me a living. It was good to have the opportunity to do what I did, and I did enjoy my college experience immensely. At the time, there were many young people in the same boat.

After graduation in 1942, I went to war, returned home in 1945, got married, helped raise a family with my wife of 65 years, worked, played and enjoyed -- and still enjoy -- life.

--FRANK J. MIRITELLO, Brookville

Hey kids, check out the jobs I had

As an early-Depression child and a resident of the earliest New York housing project, I began to work as soon as I was eligible for working papers at age 14 (not counting selling soft pretzels in sixth grade). Lean times. I took jobs wherever I could, including the post office during the holidays.

Most of today's younger generations have no idea. We would have loved to have some of the opportunities available to them today.

Here are some of the jobs I worked:

1. Busboy at the automat, age 14. I was in junior high school.

2. Usher at the Strand Theatre, age 15

3. Switchboard operator, age 16

4. Notions and buttons salesperson, age 16

5. Comptometer operator, age 17

6. College registrar office worker, age 18-21

7. New York City office assistant while attending college at night, age 20;

8. New York National Guard member, earned $5 per meeting, ages 19-21

9. Text books sales in the college cafeteria. Brooklyn College was tuition-free due to entrance test score. There were no government-assistance student loans then.

10. New York City administrative assistant, while attending graduate school at night

I've skipped a few of the shorter ones.

--FRANK A. ARENA, East Islip

Teaching was my dream job

As I was getting ready to graduate South High School in Columbus, Ohio, I filled out an application to attend Ohio State University, not knowing where the tuition money was going to come from.

My mother always encouraged me to take secretarial courses so that I could get a job in an office. I would then be able to contribute to the family's expenses, as we were very poor. But there was something else calling me in my heart.

When I told my parents that I was accepted at OSU they asked where the tuition money would come from. It was $45 a quarter for three courses in 1947. I told them I would work part time and go to classes part time. I sold shoes and other items in a department store. Plus, I either took my lunch or came home to eat in order to save.

I always wanted to be a teacher and I graduated in March 1952, with a major in elementary education. I taught in Columbus public schools and in New York private schools and retired in 1993. It was destined that I become a dedicated teacher and influence many classes of beautiful children.

--BETTY SHAMES, North Bellmore