The Forest Hills community has undoubtedly influenced and impacted the course of my life. Since moving to the Forest Hills Gardens in 1998, I have built and fostered relationships with many members of the local community. My family has been engaged with the Forest Hills community since 1990 with the establishment of our family business, 5 Burro Cafe – a local Mexican restaurant. Through my years of working at the restaurant with my family, I have truly come to understand the importance of community, philanthropy, and getting the job done with integrity.
In 2013, I attended Michigan State University and was a student in their Eli Broad School of Business. Although my visits back home were seldom, being back in the community was comforting and a great reminder as to how fortunate I was to grow up in such a beautiful community. MSU provided me with an incredible education, and an even more profound network. To this day, I continuedly communicate with former peers and friends, and contribute annually to my Program as an alumnus. Living in the Midwest for that period of time made me greatly appreciate my roots in New York and specifically Forest Hills. The wide range of cultures, cuisines, and architecture is unmatched.
Since graduating in 2017, I have made it a priority to travel around the world and enjoy all that life has to offer. I competitively trained Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in San Diego, California, from 2017-2019 while at the same time working for the US Navy. In 2019, I took the trip of a lifetime to South America, to immerse myself in a culture that I was part of , however, I had known nothing about. For 4 months I bounced around South America, beginning in Argentina, visiting family in Chile, then making my way to Uruguay, Peru, and ultimately Brazil. To me, nothing is more rewarding than learning about different cultures and viewing how other people live their lives. I am so fortunate to have been raised by a culturally diverse family- my mother, a Jewish second generation New Yorker, and my father a Chilean born immigrant, with a dream of coming to New York to make a life for himself and his family.
Finally, this experience and diversity has allowed me interact with people from all around the world. I now speak 3 languages conversationally – English, Spanish, and Hebrew. Also, my time spent in Brazil has ignited a desire in me to learn Portuguese, so I have been practicing since my return. Some
of my favorite hobbies include, eating delicious meals, staying physically active through sports and martial arts, listening to podcasts, and laughing with friends and family.
In Paul Simon’s 1975 song, “My Little Town,” he and Art Garfunkel croon about a dreary place, where laundry is hung out to dry in air polluted by factories.