Jennifer Scotese graduated from Princeton University in 2001 with a BA in art history and fine arts-photography and is currently a BSN candidate at New York University in New York City. She spent last summer working as a nursing extern on the Neurology Unit of St. Vincent's Hospital and Medical Center, New York City.
Scotese says, "This image is from a series of photographs I made of my grandmother when she was 88 years old. I also spent several days interviewing her and recording anecdotes that I'd been hearing since my childhood. The project gave my grandmother and me a way to document her amazing life. At the age of six she had emigrated alone from Puerto Rico to New York City. Here she faced the difficulties many immigrants face, including poverty and a language barrier. An independent and compassionate woman, she outlived two husbands and raised six children on her own. She was always active in the community, despite encountering discrimination, and eventually became the director of a senior citizens center in the Bronx. She worked until she was 85 years old, and passed away shortly after these images were taken. I will always remember her for the life she made for herself despite the odds-and for the sparkle in her eye.
"As an artist I drew on my knowledge and technical skills to bring out my grandmother's beauty and independent spirit in this and other photographs in the series. As a nurse I will strive to bring the same passion and attention to my patients that I bring to my subjects as an artist, in order to acknowledge the richness of their lives. In her kindness, caring, and work ethic, my grandmother set an example and a standard that I hope I'll always be guided by."