How old are you?
“I am 32 years old. Jan 13th was my birthday.”
Do you have children?
“I have two daughters: Dafne Alessandra Choy Mansilla, who is eight years old. She will turn nine soon and Daneth Alyssa Choy Mansilla who is four.”
How long have you worked here?
“From 2002 to today, thirteen years. I think they are going to retire me soon. (laughs)”
How did you come to work at Morning Glory?
“I graduated in 2000. I spent a year working in various places: dispatching in a pharmacy, selling in a school supply store, and working in a clothing store while I looked for a steady job. And [I had] a family member who used to use Miss Lori’s telephone to receive calls from the US. One day she went and heard that they needed a teacher. I am a secretary [but] I said ‘I’ll go and see if I can work as a teacher.’ I said ‘nothing to lose.’ I went to talk to Miss Lori and she said to me, “You’re hired. Tomorrow, you start to go with me. You will work with me. I’ll teach you. You’ll be a teacher’s assistant to 1st grade. That’s how I started at Morning Glory.”
Hobbies?
“In the free time that I have, I like to spend time with my daughters.”
What is it like to work with Miss Lori?
“The truth…working with her depends on how she slept (laughs)…I’m just joking. She is a very understanding, and respectable boss. If you do something wrong, she asks you to fix it in a very respectful manner. If you don’t understand what she wants you do, she explains it to you like she does with the children. That is one of the gifts she has: teaching…with all the responsibility of being in front of the school and so much responsibility on her shoulders, it’s normal that sometimes she gets upset and [she might] tell you to ‘Get your butt out of here!’ (laughs)
What is your favorite part of the job?
“One of the things I like most is sharing with the kids….getting to know them and knowing about their families. Unfortunately, it’s something I don’t do very often, not because I don’t want to, but because of my work in the office.”
What do you want to accomplish in your life?
“I think [up to this point] I have achieved a few things that I aimed at with a lot of effort and by prioritizing my home and family. I have a stagnant goal that I have postponed [since] a few years ago and I hope in God that I can still achieve it…it’s continue studying. I would like to study Child Psychology.”
Do you have an example in which you were able to help a child in their life?
“ Well, I think in a few….one of them, for example: My cousin studies here at the school and his parents are separated. He lives with his mom. At for years old, I brought him here and…I have been able to help him economically. Now he is in 3rd year Secondary and he has been the flag-bearer (the student with the highest grades in their class) at the school level.”
Favorite Bible book or verse?
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!”
Is there something you want people to understand about your job?
“Yes. I think sometimes there are people that ask me for something in a moment where I am [busy working] (of course, this isn’t always) and I can’t do it in that moment. And they get upset. I only ask that, to avoid [this problem], they ask me [and give me time.]
Morning Glory wants to, through relationships, develop excellence, integrity, responsibility and trust in the lives of the students. Do you see how we are achieving this in our families and the community?
“Well, unfortunately, not all heads think alike; but thank God, the majority of the families are thankful to Morning Glory. They don’t want to take their kids to other establishments. A lot of families are not only students and fathers. They are members of the Morning Glory family. And they have always demonstrated that when we need their cooperation, they have been present. There are people that have a very high economic status and thanks to the integrity, responsibility and confidence that they have found at Morning Glory, they [trust] that their children studying here will have a better tomorrow (mañana).”
We thank God for Neidy and her family. We thank Neidy for her effort and dedication to the Morning Glory Story.
