March is National Social Work Month. It may be close to over, but it's never too late to thank a social worker.
What is the best thing about your job?
Informing and educating teen mothers.
What is the most challenging thing about your job?
Educating colleagues who are not social workers.
Who are your heroes?
My mother, Queen Esther Pitre. She left Beaumont and moved to San Francisco in 1950 with one suitcase and my older sister. My father came later. She managed to create a life she had never known.
What is your favorite quote?
“Just because you can tell a lie does not mean people believe you."
Describe your life in six words or fewer.
Redesigning all of it.
What are three words that describe you?
Lover of life.
Tell us about your life outside of work.
What is your favorite:
- Book: "The Uncrown Queen Reclaims Her Throne: When A Black Woman Breaks The Silence" by Dr. Ahmondra McClendon
- Color: Yellow
- Movie: "The Color Purple"
- Food: Gumbo
- Song: "You're the One That I Adore" by Bobby Bland
What is the coolest thing (or a fun fact) about you?
I went to the 49ers vs. Dallas game at Candlestick Park on Jan. 10, 1982, and saw the famous Dwight Clark catch live and in person.
What is a dream that you want to make come true one day?
That captured African human beings are described as such and not " the slaves."
What is a cause you’re passionate about?
Women breaking the societal chains.
When have you felt the proudest?
When I looked out in the audience at the graduations of my AA, BA and master's degrees and saw my children. I knew them seeing me graduate would impact their lives in ways that my words never could.
What is a favorite memory from childhood?
Every summer leaving San Francisco and coming to Beaumont to spend the summers with my grandmother and grandfather.
What’s the best trip you’ve ever been on and why?
My ex-husband and I took our children to Hawaii for a week. We were all one.
Describe an experience that has had a lasting impact on you.
Raising my hand in college and correcting misinformation about African American families.
What has been your most meaningful accomplishment so far?
Raising my four children—three girls and one boy. All grown now.
What is one thing you can’t live without?
Being close to my children and grandchildren.
Describe a funny or unique experience that you’ve had.
I hosted a local TV show in the Bay Area, "Truth Today with Gloria Thomas."
If you could visit any place in the world, where would it be?
Africa. I have an expectation that I would heal from the inside out.
If you could pick any superpower, what would it be?
LOVE. Love is the only power we have yet to see what all she could do if given the chance.
You’re planning a dinner party. What three people would you invite?
My mother, my father and my grandmother. All are deceased. I would love for them to know my life in Beaumont.