From the 5 boroughs to rat burrows, Juernine Sheppard has spent greater than the previous three a long time serving the “Huge Apple.” With retirement looming later this 12 months, she says her present position as NYC Parks challenge supervisor caps off her municipal profession on the best of notes.
“I’m the kind of individual, earlier than I began working for parks, that was simply…routine,” she mentioned. “However [working at NYC Parks opened] my eyes to one thing completely different, one thing new. I’m all the time studying extra, all the time observing new issues.”
Her story began briefly in Harlem, however her household moved to Jamaica, Queens, whereas she was a child. Sheppard would spend her childhood within the “world’s borough.” She recounts her childhood fondly, surrounded by a tight-knit group the place everybody knew everybody. Again then, New York Metropolis parks served as occasional venues to look at MC and DJ battles along with her siblings throughout hip hop’s burgeoning years.
After graduating from Morgan State, Sheppard discovered herself within the skies as a flight attendant. The job was enjoyable, however each journey was a nerve-racking expertise for her mother, so Sheppard started working within the metropolis in 1988 as a caseworker for the Human Assets Administration. She made a profession change 20 years later, becoming a member of the NYC Parks Division.
Sheppard was apprehensive at first and a little bit squeamish when she heard concerning the rats. However furthermore, she was excited.
“Exploring and seeing so many issues that I didn’t even know existed [and] simply seeing the operational aspect of New York Metropolis Parks was simply superb,” mentioned Sheppard. “It’s fairly cool to exit to the swimming pools as a result of truthfully, I’ve by no means gone to a public pool as a child rising up. Simply seeing what’s provided to New York Metropolis residents and vacationers, it was simply superb.
“I believe I missed out on lots after I was youthful [by] not making the most of all that New York Metropolis Parks has to supply to the general public.”
Sheppard tailored rapidly and shortly developed a fame as NYC Parks’ “troubleshooter.” The division quickly entrusted her with a grand assortment of duties, starting from rolling out Summer season Meals with the Division of Schooling for youngsters at native swimming pools to main MulchFest, the town’s Christmas tree recycling initiative. After all, she works on the interagency rodent taskforce. Sheppard even works with figuring out nesting red-tailed hawks.
What’s subsequent?
“I’m planning in my head; I actually haven’t pinpointed precisely what I wish to do,” mentioned Sheppard. “I wish to do one thing and I wish to do one thing that I’d not have usually accomplished 5 years in the past. To take a problem. To take a threat.”Tandy Lau is a Report for America corps member who writes about public security for the Amsterdam Information. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps preserve him writing tales like this one; please think about making a tax-deductible reward of any quantity in the present day by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.
