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Margo Duggan
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When she enlisted in 1940, Goddard
House Skilled Nursing Center resident,
Margo Duggan was one of the first enlisted
women to wear the World War II uniform
of the U. S. Marines. At the time, she
had a steady job with her Boston area
hometown newspaper, The Herald
Traveler. Her father was pleased with her
decision to enlist, confident that “You can
take care of yourself.” Not her boss at the
newspaper. He made it clear that he wanted
her to stay at her desk. Margo performed clerical tasks all over
the United States, including maintaining health records for
Marines. She learned, “to keep my eyes and ears open, and my
mouth shut!” and she recalls making many good friends. “I really
learned to get along with a variety of people.” What she enjoyed
most about the Marines was “the whole new adventure.” What she
enjoyed least was drill and command, because “I had two left
feet!”
As soon as the war was over, Margo headed for the University
of California at Berkeley to continue her adventures.
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Marie Jean-Baptiste
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Can you imagine having two young
sons, working full-time as a certified
nursing assistant and carrying a full
college schedule – all at once? Marie
Jean-Baptiste does it all and maintains
a 4.0 grade point average at Roxbury
Community College. Born in Haiti,
Marie came to the United States in
2001. Immediately, she began taking
English classes at the Haitian-
American Public Health Initiative in
Mattapan.
Along with this commitment and
motivation, Marie also has help from
her parents who assist her with child
care. Her personal goal is to have a job
where she can make a difference in
people’s lives.
“You must really love the profession
to become a nurse, because it is
stressful,” notes Marie. “You have to
work under pressure, maintain kindness
and respect towards people and have
the skills to get the job done correctly.
It is a blessing to have family here to
help and encourage me to take
advantages of opportunities to build a
career. I hope that one day I’ll be able
to do the same for my own children.”
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