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Nicolette Francisco, Therapist
I was born in Manhattan, New York. My parents are both immigrants which makes me a first generation immigrant. They both have a high school education and they have always pushed me to reach my dreams, to shoot for the stars, and aim for the moon.
My ethnic background is Haitian-Dominican. I am the descendant of the first free slaves and a proud Afro-Latina from the beautiful country of Hispaniola
I went to State University of New York College at Oswego and I graduated in 2017 with a Bachelor's degree. I am a current grad student at Long Island University-Brooklyn where I am getting my masters in Social Work
I decided to go into social work after realizing through other jobs that I love advocating for families, especially for my students. I realized that in my role as an office manager, I could only provide a very limited amount of support that the people around me needed. So, I decided to apply for grad school and further educate myself on how I can advocate for others and provide them with the services, the help and the tools they need to be successful in their lives.
I care about working with Black people because I feel like only we understand what it is like to be us. We understand what it is like to walk around in our skin and how society views us. As social workers of color we can connect with our clients and potentially find a common interest with them, which allows them to feel comfortable opening up to us.
I have dealt with racial microaggressions and racial comments about being Haitian or about my natural hair. I tend to ignore the comments because they are often a person's misunderstanding of my culture and I try to save my energy and try not to dish out on people who decide to not educate themselves or learn more about a culture. It is not what they see on TV. I wish people would understand that most Haitians do not perform Voodooism (although some do), but for the most part, the majority of Haitians are Catholic. Also, I wish people would understand that not all Latina’s look like Jennifer Lopez. We all look different, our hair and body types and dialects are all different.
I am a first generation immigrant, and a graduate student. I love origami and try to learn how to make a new animal at least once a week. I also love to meditate and work out in my spare time. Trying new restaurants is another thing I love to do as well.