What’s your position at the Aquarium:
Housekeeper for facilities.

Where are you from?
Niagara Falls.

How long have you been at the Aquarium?
I just had my one-year anniversary on the 15th of May!

Tell us a bit about your background/your life before coming to the Aquarium of Niagara.
I was born and raised in Niagara Falls. I’m the oldest I’m a family of four. My jobs before AON range from retail, to restaurants, to factory work.

What inspired you to choose a career in this field?
I came to the Aquarium because any previous job I had didn’t make any difference in people’s life. In truth, I felt like in corporate America employees are under-appreciated and the jobs don’t mean anything. I wanted to work for a company that cares about what they do and who works for them.

Have you held any other positions/jobs at the Aquarium?
No.

What is your favorite thing about your job?
I love that at the Aquarium there is a real sense of pride. For me, it’s the history we are a part of. Taking care of a building from 1965 is rare.

What’s one thing you are most proud of accomplishing at the Aquarium?
In the recent months I’ve taken a lot or pride of keeping our building clean and safe for everyone who works here. I never thought that being a janitor would be such an important job.

Tell us about your life outside of the Aquarium.
When I’m not at work I spend a lot of time reading to my dog Joey, short for Josephine, lol. She likes when I talk to her and I read better out loud. It’s become an awesome bonding experience for her and me.

If you were an aquatic/marine animal, what would you be and why?
I’d love to be an orca whale. I think that it’s awesome that they’ve shown such clear signs of love and emotion but are still one of the top predictors in the ocean.