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From Nanny to the Top of Her Class: Dianne Monrose Named 2004 Valedictorian
"I had to believe that I was doing something for myself, something that nobody could take away from me." So says Dianne A. Monrose, about the six years she struggled to save money from her earnings as a babysitter and nanny in order to be able to enroll at New York City College of Technology (City Tech).
All the days of working multiple jobs to support herself, evenings spent in class and nights poring over her books have paid off as Monrose, now 32, is graduating at the top of her class. On June 3, in The Theater at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan, she will graduate with a bachelor of technology degree in computer information systems. She will also deliver the 2004 Valedictorian Address to more than 1,500 other graduates and thousands of their friends and family members.
On hand will be her nine-month-old daughter Gianne and her husband of four years, Gilford T. Monrose, a manufacturing coordinator at Scholastic who is also receiving his bachelor's degree in biblical and theological studies this June from Nyack College.
Monrose's journey began in 1992 when she came to New York at age 21 on a tourist visa from Jamaica and was urged by her father to stay because she would have a better future in America. As an undocumented immigrant, she was apprehensive about looking for a job because of the restrictive immigration laws. So she took babysitting and nanny jobs, all the time saving for college.
In Jamaica, Monrose had completed a three-year college program in hospitality management and thought of pursuing her studies in that area, but the field of computer programming won over. “I discovered I had a love for programming and problem solving when I took an introductory computer science course during my first semester at City Tech,” she says.
While maintaining a full academic schedule, Monrose, an East Flatbush resident, has worked in several departments of the MTA-New York City Transit Authority since 2002, including Car Equipment, Human Resources and, presently, Timekeeping. In addition, she has volunteered in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene community through the College’s TechCorps, where she helped neighborhood residents learn to use computers and write their résumés and worked as a teacher's aide at PS 46. She has also mentored teenagers and served the homeless through her church, Mt. Zion Church of God 7th Day.
Things became particularly hectic when she was pregnant, as she took six courses and worked 20 hours a week. "I don't know how I did it, but my faith in God kept me going. My husband, who is my greatest supporter, sometimes calls me 'Superwoman.' There were days I felt overwhelmed. He would say, 'Go get ‘em, Tiger, you can do it!'"
Monrose, who took three years to earn her associate's degree and another three for the bachelor's, also credits Professors Braneky, Cabo and Rodriguez for "being there for me and believing in me. They were always there if I needed extra help and time to understand something. "
Once her daughter was born, she and her husband divided the responsibility, with him taking care of her in the mornings and Monrose being with her in the evenings. Monrose's aunt, the one she came to live with 12 years ago, takes care of the baby during the day.
Through all her responsibilities, Monrose maintained her 3.95 grade point average. She made the National Dean's List in 2000-2001 and was inducted into the College’s Tau Phi Sigma and Phi Theta Kappa honor societies. She also received an award for community service from TechCorps (Americorps). She explains that in the last three years at City Tech she received financial aid covering about half of her tuition, including a scholarship for women pursuing careers in fields in which they are underrepresented from the Helena Rubinstein Foundation, which helped her stay in college.
Monrose says that her role models are her parents, especially her mother, who was a secondary school teacher in Jamaica before retiring. "I saw how she was dedicated to what she did, giving wholeheartedly to her students and in so doing was loved and respected by all. It's made me want to help people, too."
Monrose, who has been back to Jamaica twice since immigrating here and is hoping her parents will be able to come to commencement, says of them: "My parents always believed in me, that I'd amount to something despite the odds. I am the first of their children to graduate from college and they believe I will continue to push forward."
She is thinking of becoming a New York City Teaching Fellow after graduation and teaching mathematics and technology or trying for a full-time post at the MTA while working for a master's degree in education or business administration. Down the line, she and her husband might start their own business, possibly in publishing.
"I used to be a shy person of very few words," she says. "I didn't want to be in the spotlight. City Tech has helped me grow and become more poised. I also learned how to work in groups, both individually and as a team working collectively, to reach our goals."
There's an inspirational quote that hangs in a hallway of the MTA that Monrose says pretty much sums up the way she wants to be in the world. "It says that whatever you do, do it with quality and excellence. ‘Every job is a self-portrait of the person who did it. Autograph your work with quality.' I strive to do this every day."
5/17/04
