Snapshot of a Boss, Vol. III: How a Parks Program Director Remained an Active Influence in Her Children’s Upbringing

In Jopwell’s Snapshot of a Boss series, we interview working parents about their work-life balance and the lessons they learned along the way. Previously, we talked to Clara Amiama, a mother of two and a vice president/partner at a recruiting firm in Puerto Rico. In this edition, Louise Mercado, a woman-of-all trades (stay-at-home mom, videographer, public programs director) talks about growing up in public housing in the Bronx, her wishes for her daughters, and the legacy she hopes to leave to young people.

Louise Mercado with her daughters Aziza and Nadia

What was your childhood like?

I grew up with both of my parents. My mother was a homemaker but very active and self sufficient. She taught my sister and me how to work with our hands and sew — she kept us busy. My father had a good sense of humor and loved to play. He worked very hard — about six days a week — but when he came home, he was a big influence. I really had a good upbringing. If we weren’t playing sports or riding our bikes, we were playing cards or board games. We were the go-to house and always had a house full of people visiting us.

I was brought up at the Soundview Houses in the Bronx. As the first tenants, we were able to mold the community that we wanted. It was so pleasant that I still have reunions with people I grew up with a few times a year. There are about 40 of us that still meet for Christmas, during the month of June, and at Soundview’s yearly picnic in Soundview Park. Some people travel from out of state in order to meet with the group.

What was your first foray into the professional world?

When I was 18, I entered a work program at the Department of Parks. My mother was very sickly and my father told me, “I don’t know if I should invest in your education because you’re just going to get married and then your education will go to waste.” That was his mindset: very, very traditional. I told him that I wanted to go to school, but since it wasn’t a local college he wouldn’t pay for it. I’d been working since I was 14 and that was my introduction into adulthood.

Even though I couldn’t afford it, going to school stayed in the back of my mind. Finally, I just said, “I’m going to figure it out and do it” — and that’s what I did. I enrolled at Westchester Community College in Valhalla, New York and got my associate degree in Communication and Media Arts with a concentration in Journalism. And I’ll say this: It was through the encouragement and friendship of my journalism professor, Helen Smith, that I was able to stick it out. Helen kept working and giving me jobs, including one on the journalism team at school, where I wrote for the school newspaper.

It was difficult — the tuition was expensive and I had to support myself. My parents were separated, my mother was receiving disability, and my father was opening up his own business. At the time, even though there was the Women’s Movement with Angela Davis and Gloria Steinem, things were still pretty traditional. If women didn’t have fathers that encouraged them to go to school, they became housewives. I had my own apartment and car, and I had to figure it out myself. My father would help me when I needed something, but when it came to education, it was a different story.

What made you interested in media and is that something you always wanted to do?

When I was 14, I wanted to become an airline steward so that I could travel and see the world. I believe the training was in Missouri at the time and my mother said, “Oh no. You’re not going all the way there.” It goes back to that traditional mindset. I had always been very disappointed that I couldn’t pursue that; going into media allowed me to travel without traveling.

I was a paralegal for nine years but left that job because it was too intense. Dealing with criminal cases was incredibly trying, mentally and emotionally. After I left, I worked for HBO as a legal secretary but decided that I wanted to do something with more freedom, so I started selling real estate. I was working in that job when I became pregnant with my first daughter, Nadia.

How did you manage work after becoming pregnant?

I worked until I was nine months pregnant and the doctor told me I had to stop. I returned to work when Nadia was three months old and my sister babysat her and her own three children, but watching four children was a lot for her, especially since I worked late hours. After she decided to return to work, I decided to stay home myself. I wasn’t comfortable leaving Nadia with strangers, so I decided to stay home after I became pregnant with her sister.

What was being a stay-at-home mom like for you?

It was an easy transition. Maybe because my mother was a homemaker and I was always out, being a stay-at-home mom was a lot of fun for me. I love to go out and I had both of my daughters out all the time. They have been to at least 90% of the museums in New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey. I would put them in the car and drive as far as Canada. We would sing and play games in the car. I learned to keep them occupied because I like to have fun.

I had a neighbor who was an artist — she used to do book illustrations, play piano, and sing — and Nadia and Aziza used to dress up, sing, and perform while she played music. The library used to have all kinds of events and free programs in the park, so I would take the girls to the park. They learned how to play sports and all kinds of activities, and that’s how I met some of my friends. We moved to Queens and were only one of three families that had children in our building. I wanted my daughters to have active and engaging childhoods like I did.

What was it like transitioning back into the workforce?

The transition back to work was actually a smooth one, likely because I had been doing a ton of volunteer work and stayed busy. I was able to get Nadia and Aziza a scholarship to attend a private school in the city and I started doing a lot of volunteer work at the school. I [had taken] a class with the Department of Education and they gave me a certificate to teach decorative arts and architecture to children, so I worked in the school library. I taught Puerto Rican culture and taught on whatever knowledge I had of Islam. When I wasn’t at their school, I worked as a docent for the Queens Museum and volunteered at Roosevelt Elementary School, tutoring children and teaching architecture. I made friends with the principal of Roosevelt and we did a project with Asia Society.

My artist neighbor needed someone to videotape her whenever she worked, so she gave me a camera and asked me to record her performances. Every time there was a performance at Nadia and Aziza’s school, I started videotaping because I had the camera. Parents at their school started paying me to videotape their children, so I became a videographer. I used to videotape graduations all around New York.

I was so busy that when I finally decided I no longer wanted the hustle of the video business — plus, the equipment was huge and difficult to carry around — I decided to get a regular job. I worked as an assistant to a periodontist, as the administrative assistant to the vice president of operations at Southern Queens Park Association, Inc. (SQPA), and, when the girls were older, I decided to return to school. I knew that I wanted to do something more.

You are now a program director at the Southern Queens Parks Association. How long have you been there and what does your work involve?

I’ve worked there since 2003 and have been a director since 2009. The organization does a vast array of things, but we’re mainly a social service program that serves the greater southeast Queens community in various ways. My role is to oversee the afterschool program and make sure that the children have a lot of academic and social [activities]. I make it very clear that we don’t babysit children, rather we cultivate children. We are also stewards of a 280-acre park where we host special events.

My afterschool program is a support system for parents that are working. Support systems are very needed — whether it’s a family member, a neighbor, or an afterschool program. We have parents that don’t get out of work until 5 or 6 o’clock and if it wasn’t for our program, many of them wouldn’t know what to do with their children. More parents work today than in the past and there are a lot of single mothers. Some of them are working two or three jobs, and also juggling many things.

What are you most proud of as a career woman and as a mom?

What I loved about my work when I first started was that I was building and creating a program that didn’t exist. As long as I met certain contractual obligations, I could be as creative as I wanted. I like the freedom of not being confined and seeing how the work I’ve done affects other people. A lot of kids that have come through my program later became employees. Others use this as a springboard to do whatever it is that they want to do. One of my former kids, who’s now in the military and stationed out in San Diego, always stops by to see me when he comes to New York. It’s rewarding to know that I must have had some influence on them.

With my own children, I see who they’ve become and I’m really proud of them. I think they are dynamite. When I look at them, it tells me that all of my efforts were worth it. We were at a family gathering recently and one of my nieces said, “Aunt Louise, I remember when we were small, you used to take us to the most interesting places!” At the time, you just do what you want or feel you need to do, or what you think will benefit them. To hear years later how it affected people, I don’t think I can ask for anything more.

What lesson do you want to impart to your daughters?

I want them to be fearless and make decisions for themselves. It doesn’t mean that you don’t try to work along with someone when you’re in a relationship, but I want them to understand that if they really want something and what they want is not hurting other people, they shouldn’t allow anyone to hold them back. They should always forge forward. That means finding someone who supports and respects them — not as women but as people. I want them to not allow anyone to demean them.

One of the things I try to teach the kids I work with, and even my staff, is that when you make mistakes or you fail at something, we give it a negative term — but all it means is that you tried something and it didn’t succeed. Look at it, ask yourself what happened, and then figure out how you can turn that around to get your result. That’s what I mean by fearless. Don’t allow fear or failure to hold you back. Keep going. If you have a flat tire, you don’t just sit there or leave your car behind. You figure out how to fix your flat, or call AAA, or a friend or neighbor, so that you can keep going. Look at life that way.