My Neighbor’s Neighborhood

An Interview with Joanie

By Anna Dioli

My neighbor, Joanie, is a retired teacher. She is a very positive person who grew up in San Francisco and later moved to San Mateo. I see Joanie when I walk to school, and I’m constantly amazed by her kindness towards others. Joanie is the best neighbor anyone could have. She knows everyone in our community, and she’s our “go-to” person for all the community gossip. 

Where were you born? 

In San Francisco. 

How did you end up in San Mateo?

I was teaching at St. Greg's in San Mateo, and we were looking to move to get a little better weather. 

Who did you look up to when you were younger? 

Of course, as a youngster, you look up to your parents because they're your initial role models. As I got older, I looked up to Sister Inez, who taught me in my junior year of high school. I looked up to her because she opened a world to us. Most weekends, she would go down to Central Valley and march with Cesar Chavez. I looked up to her for doing that. She would bring stories back to us and share that world with us. Just knowing what was going on planted seeds in my head. It got me to think about how to make the world a better place, and do it within your community. You look for what needs to be done, put forth the time and effort, and use your voice to effect change. I think today’s generation doesn’t listen enough to each other, and it's so important.

How did your childhood shape who you are today? 

What shaped me the most was growing up in the era of neighborhoods and communities, where all communication was face-to-face. My neighborhood, Westlake, was a new development. As kids, we all played outside and at each other's houses. You didn't go home until you had to come home, until your mother was yelling at you to come home. You always felt safe because everyone looked out for one another. You knew that if you did something, Mrs. So-and-so would call your mother and tell her. It was a period when parents disciplined you for what was said. It wasn't, “Oh, no, my daughter wouldn’t do that.” It was just a fun time. I remember having potlucks on Saturdays with the families in my neighborhood. It was a simpler time, but each time has something to offer. My parents exposed me to faith. My dad was Catholic, and my mother was Greek Orthodox. We were raised Catholic. That was important. Knowing there's a greater power than you who is always with you, knowing you are loved and taken care of, is comforting. So my childhood shaped me, my education shaped me, and my faith shaped me.

Have you ever had a life-changing experience?

My first life-changing experience was when my mom died. My mom was only 60, and I was in my 30s. When she was diagnosed with colon cancer, it had already metastasized. She remained strong throughout her treatment. For my sister and me, she was our mom until the end. She isn’t where I am, physically, but I can feel that she is always with me. Losing my mom was sobering. It’s hard. It was also my first close encounter with death – a completion of the circle of life. 

I had another encounter with death when I was still growing up. A family lived across the street: Gerd, a doctor, and his lovely wife, Lorraine, who was 28. They had three children, Julie, John, and Jenny. Lorraine had an aneurysm and died suddenly. That was the first time I’d known someone who died so young. I remember going to school and asking my homeroom teacher, Sister Consul Concilia, “Why did that happen?” I questioned my faith. Why did God do this? But God didn't do it. It was part of life. The hardest part was going to her service and seeing her three little kids lose their mom. 

What did you do for a living?

I taught school. 

What grade? 

I started with middle school, but later I worked in libraries. I had all different ages, but my affinity group has always been middle school because that's where I started. I thought primary school teachers were saints, with those little kids and everything. They looked at middle school teachers as crazy, dealing with raging hormones and whatever, but I just really enjoyed that group. I also thought you had to be good at teaching to be comfortable in the early grades, but I wasn’t confident I could do that. I enjoyed middle school because that’s where you develop your social-emotional skills. All ages have something to offer. The first year I taught eighth grade was as a 23-year-old. I was a middle school teacher when I retired 42 years later. Throughout 42 years in the classroom, I taught other grades as well. My students were my greatest teachers. I learned a lot. 

What made you decide you wanted to teach? 

I've always liked children and education. Initially, I thought about going into school counseling, but it segued into teaching. I did some of both in the beginning, but interacting with my students and getting to know them as people kept me in the classroom. The hearts and minds of children at all ages are lifelines. You never grow old when you're in the classroom. There was something different every day; the unpredictability was fun. Also, listen to what kids say – they’re perceptive and insightful.

What advice would you give an 8th grader going into high school? 

Love yourself for who you are. Appreciate who you are. Never let anyone tell you differently, and never let someone put you in a place that takes away your power or your voice. 

I know that you're a work in progress and that nobody is ever complete. There will be challenges along the way, but meet them and greet them as they come. Remember that you have great support around you. There’s always someone there for you. Don’t be afraid to reach out to that someone. Whether it’s a family member, a teacher, or someone else you trust, there’s comfort in reaching out. 

Trust your intuition and don't be afraid to fail. You will learn that some of your failures later become your successes, and some of what you thought were your successes end up becoming failures. Never be afraid to make a mistake because that's how you learn. That's how you grow as a human being. 

What do you do just for fun? 

There are a lot of things I enjoy doing. But I think for fun, getting together with friends and spending time together, because we're all living in different places. The older you get, the more important relationships are. You treasure them. 

If you could eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be? 

This just came to me first. I don't even know why it came to me first, but strawberries. I have them every morning. I enjoy my breakfast every morning – the same breakfast every morning. I have yogurt, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, bananas, walnuts, almonds, and wheat germ. Fruits and vegetables are my favorite foods. I wouldn't want to give up.