STAR OF BROOKLYN: Judith Collins

Judith Collins — Member of Community Board 10

Community Involvement: Judith Collins has been c involved in the community for the last 30 years. She was appointed to Community Board 10 in the 1980s and has been working to better the community ever since. “I read The Home Reporter to keep up with the community; it motivated me to become active,” Collins noted. She is dedicated to several committees on Community Board 10, devoting a year and a half to being the chairperson of the Education Committee and avidly working on the Police and Public Safety Committee. In addition, she contributed her time working with the Naturally Occurring Retirement Community (NORC). “I taught four classes to help seniors improve their memory loss at the local center before the grant lost funding,” she said. Her dedication and hard work are being honored with a Civic Award by the Shorefront Democratic Club.

Career: Now retired, Collins worked within the public school system as a Spanish teacher on the intermediate school level and later furthered her education by going into school psychology. Collins proudly remarks, “After receiving a scholarship, I decided to forward my education in school, becoming a bilingual psychologist.” Collins explained, “The school system was in desperate need of bilingual Spanish speakers because of the surge [of Spanish-speaking students] in New York City.” Collins’ last assignment was at P.S. 205, in District 20, testing and counseling children in both special and general education. After 37 years, she decided to retire from the school system and commit her time to the community.

Personal: Collins has lived in Bay Ridge for 32 years. She was born and raised in Brooklyn, growing up in East Flatbush and later moving to Bay Ridge. She recalled, “I remember my first Christmas. I felt sad looking at the paper, everyone’s going to parties and I said to myself, I’m going to parties next year.” Collins attended Bay Ridge High School, received her undergraduate degree in Spanish at St. Joseph’s College in Brooklyn and went on to receive a degree in School Psychology at Long Island University. She is a proud parishioner of the Church of St. Anselm.

Biggest Accomplishment: Helping parents with their children’s difficulties in the community has been Collins’ proudest memory. She recalled, “Having faith in my abilities to accomplish my goals” was a tough challenge to overcome, but “being able to make a family happier” was what drove Collins to believe in herself. Helping the community is “very rewarding,” Collins said, and she is “really pleased” to be honored for it.

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