“Now that my children are on their own, I can focus on what I want to do.” Rene works as an accounts receivable clerk at a printing company in midtown and hopes that her degree will enable her to advance in her job or to start her own business. “I’m leaning towards studying finance,” explained Rene. “I want to have my own company but if that doesn’t end up happening, I want to move into management.” Despite her business interests, Rene is a serious reader and counts writers like the late Toni Morrison and Edwidge Danticat as her favorite authors.

Favorite Book: If she had to pick one book as her favorite of all time, Phara said it would be the classic Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston.