Category: Q&A

On The Job – Rebecca Cardamone

Mobile boutique owner

Rebecca Cardamone owns The Trendy Dog, a mobile boutique based in Pelham selling items for dog lovers.

Explain your job and what it entails.

I own a retail pop-up shop and e-commerce business. I travel all over New England with my mobile boutique to different fairs and festivals. I also sell my products online at thetrendydogllc.com. My products include apparel and home decor for people who love dogs. I’m an authorized “Dog is Good” retailer and carry many other brands as well.

How long have you had this job?

I just started my business in the spring of 2023.

What led you to this career field and your current job?

My love for dogs.

What kind of education or training did you need?

I have a degree in biology and worked in biotech for almost 20 years before deciding to pursue my dream of opening a business that allows me to combine my love of dogs and merchandising.

What is your typical at-work uniform or attire?

Yoga pants and one of the T-shirts or sweatshirts that I sell.

What is the most challenging thing about your work, and how do you deal with it?

The most challenging aspect is maintaining a work-life balance while running my own business. Mastering that balance is a work in progress.

What do you wish you’d known at the beginning of your career?

I wish I had enough confidence earlier in my life to pursue my dream of owning a retail shop or e-commerce business.

What do you wish other people knew about your job?

I wish people knew how genuinely happy it makes me to hear all about their pups.

What was the first job you ever had?

My first job was at a small dry cleaning business in Nashua.

What’s the best piece of work-related advice you’ve ever received?

Find something you are truly passionate about and a way to turn it into your full-time career.

Five favorites

Favorite book: Any mystery or Stephen King book
Favorite movie: It’s a tie between Braveheart and Knives Out.
Favorite music: The Fray or Fleetwood Mac
Favorite food: Mexican and Italian
Favorite thing about NH: Fall foliage and the community in my small town

Featured photo: Rebecca Cardamone. Courtesy photo.

Rising star

A career in nursing & mentoring

Meet Michael Newell, RN, a home care nurse and mentor at Granite VNA, recently named “Young Person of the Year” by Stay Work Play during their 14th Annual Rising Stars Awards.

Tell us about your educational journey that led you to pursue a career in nursing.
I grew up outside of Keene and went to Conval High School. They had an internship program my senior year. I originally applied to all my colleges as pre-med and wanted to become a doctor. Then after doing this internship program at Monadnock Community Hospital and around the town of Peterborough — I worked with audiologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, radiologists, doctors, nurses, everyone — I found out that I actually wanted to become a nurse instead of a doctor, primarily because nurses spend a lot more time with the patients, while doctors are a bit more diagnostic and spend more time looking at the data. … I went to the University of New Hampshire for nursing.

What drew you to home health care early in your nursing career, and why did it appeal to you?
I asked for my senior rotation, or immersion rotation, at UNH to be with a home care agency. They paired me with what used to be called the Concord Regional VNA, which is now the Granite VNA. I really loved it. I like being able to meet patients where they’re at, literally and figuratively, getting to know them in their own homes or home environments. I feel that it’s actually very important, in my humble opinion, for anyone who does nursing to do some home care. In hospitals, you’re mostly looking at the patients for what they came in for — their diagnosis. But once you get out into their homes, their environments, you find that all their stories and backgrounds are different. You always know that in the back of your mind, but it’s different when you actually experience it.

Could you describe your approach to mentoring, and what principles guide your mentoring style?
I’ve always loved mentoring. I was a peer mentor for students who were on an exchange trip from China to the U.S. for a couple of weeks every year for about three years in high school. Then, in college, I was a mentor. I’m really drawn to that. My big thing with mentoring is just showing through example. I let the people I mentor follow me around, so they see everything I do, and at the same time I’m educating and talking them through everything I’m doing. I also do that with all my patients.

What personal benefits or insights have you gained from your mentoring experiences, and how have they contributed to your own career and aspirations?
In nursing, we learn about what’s called “the teach back method” — when you teach a patient, you should ask them to tell you, in their own words, what you just told them, so that they understand. Well, I find that I’m basically doing the teach back method to myself when I’m teaching the people I’m mentoring. I find that I’m understanding the material even better and making connections when I’m educating someone else about concepts.

How has your experience in home care, working with a diverse set of patients in their own environments, impacted your nursing career?
In home care, we see patients for basically everything. I call it the least specialized specialty. It’s been very eye-opening learning not only about all these different medical conditions, but also different situations for patients to have.

Looking ahead, what excites you about the prospect of becoming a nurse educator? Are there any other career aspirations you have in mind?
Eventually I do want to go into education, not necessarily in a university setting, but more like what I’m doing now, being a preceptor, educating nurses who are already nurses on different aspects of nursing. For example, I’m really passionate about incorporating LGBTQ education in nursing and nursing programs. I did my whole senior thesis on that in college. I’m actually going to a conference next weekend put on by Fenway Health Institute in Boston called “Advancing Excellence in Transgender Health” with the whole health care team, and I’m super excited about that and getting to grow my knowledge in that way.

Featured photo: Michael Newell, RN. Courtesy photo.

On The Job – Vee Nong

Permanent makeup artist

Vee Nong is the owner and lead permanent makeup artist of My Beautiful Brows in Raymond.

Explain your job and what it entails.
I do brows and lip blushing and other permanent makeup. I’ll do a quick consultation with clients to get an idea of what they’re looking for as far as shape and style. For brows, do they want an ombre look, or do they want hair strokes for a natural look, or do they want more of a bold look? If a client brings in a picture, I’ll go off of that, but I wouldn’t do anything that’s too dramatic. If I feel like it’s too much, then we find a compromise. We start sketching the eyebrows to make sure it’s what they like, and once they give their approval, we make it permanent.

How long have you had this job?
Eight years.

What led you to this career field and your current job?
I love makeup. Growing up, my passion was always makeup.

What kind of education or training did you need?
I’ve taken private training to perfect my work. You need a body art tattoo license, and to get a license, you have to work under an artist as an apprentice for 1,400 hours.

What is your typical at-work uniform or attire?
I wear scrubs, a hairnet, a mask and gloves.

What is the most challenging thing about your work, and how do you deal with it?
It’s the clients who think they know everything. Sometimes they want something that is outside of my comfort zone to do, and I don’t want my name to be on work that’s going to make me look bad. You just have to learn how to talk to them. I always try to compromise with them, and if they still feel uncomfortable, then I have to say, maybe I’m not the artist for you. It’s always best to go with someone who can compromise with you.

What do you wish you’d known at the beginning of your career?
I wish I had more knowledge, but at the same time … I think you have to go through the experience to know exactly what you need to know.

What do you wish other people knew about your job?
How passionate I am about it. I love what I do, and if people see that in me, I’m sure they will appreciate it.

What was the first job you ever had?
Finish Line shoe store.

What’s the best piece of work-related advice you’ve ever received?
How to hold the needle properly and how to mix pigments to get the color you want. — Angie Sykeny

Five favorites
Favorite book: Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
Favorite movie: Rush Hour 2
Favorite music: Country music. My favorite is Chris Stapleton.
Favorite food: Pizza
Favorite thing about NH: The mountains

Featured photo: Shane and Evangaline Hooker, Courtesy photo.

In the kitchen with Ann Marie Baril

Ann Marie Baril, owner of Pastry Dream, has always loved to bake. Her passion for food comes from her grandmother, who she says always sought to bring others joy through food. When Baril had a dream one night about owning her own bakery, she first wrote the idea off as crazy. After a few minutes went by, she thought, ‘Why not?’ After researching and experimenting, Baril started Pastry Dream about a year and a half ago, serving individual-sized pastries in a variety of flavors such as lemon raspberry, chocolate peanut butter, ginger spice cake and, new for the season, pecan pie. You can find them at the Salem farmers market on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

What is your must-have kitchen item?
My Kitchen-Aid mixer. It’s the best thing that was ever created. … It’s such a fantastic tool and I think everyone should have one. Anyone who does any kind of baking needs one.

What would you have for your last meal?
I think it would have to be lobster. I live in New England [and] grew up in New England. … [I was] brought up [going] to the church festival and [having] the clams and the lobster. That’s something that I’ve eaten forever.

What is your favorite local eatery?
I have to say the Firefly Bistro in Manchester. … I’ve never had anything even mediocre there. The food is fantastic and they present it so interestingly. The wait staff is very very good.

Name a celebrity you would like to see eating in your restaurant?
I’d have to say Mike Andrews. … When I was a kid growing up I loved the Red Sox [and] I was always a fan of Mike Andrews. … When he stopped playing baseball he became the chairman of the Jimmy Fund and … I found that so incredible.

What is your favorite thing on your menu?
I love the cheesecake, I love the ginger spice and I love the chocolate peanut butter.

What is the biggest food trend in New Hampshire right now?
Mini things or small things seem to be very popular right now. That and cookies. Cookies I don’t think will ever go out of style.

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?
I have to say lasagna because it’s my husband’s favorite and any time we go anywhere he may try the lasagna but he always says it isn’t as good as mine, which is a good feeling.

Cinnamon Apple Bread
From the kitchen of Ann Marie Baril

3 cups flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
A pinch of salt
⅔ cup butter (chilled)
¼ cup brown sugar, packed
1 or 2 large baking apples, Granny Smith
¾ cup milk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Grease three mini loaf pans. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
Cut butter into thin slices and add to bowl. Break butter into mixture with fingers until mixture is crumbly. Stir in brown sugar. Add chopped apples, milk and eggs. Stir.
The batter should be thick but not dry. If necessary, add more milk (1 Tablespoon at a time.)
Divide batter evenly into three greased mini loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until done. Turn loaves out and let cool on a rack.

Featured photo: Ann Marie Baril, owner of Pastry Dream. Courtesy photo.

A learning environment

NH’s Teacher of the Year talks about her class

Elizabeth Duclos, who teaches third grade at Pembroke Hill School in Pembroke, has been named New Hampshire’s 2024 Teacher of the Year. Chosen from a pool of more than 300 nominees, Duclos now advances to compete for the National Teacher of the Year award.

Explain your teaching philosophy and the kind of classroom environment you aim to create.
Children are often in a space where they don’t feel comfortable taking risks or trying new things due to fear of failure or shame. When this happens, children don’t feel open to doing things. The whole basis of what I do is wrapped around children feeling cared for and safe. That’s something that I’ve heard from many parents over the years as a teacher — that I care for their children, making connections with them, learning who they are, and knowing what they like and don’t like. We spend a lot of time cultivating a community in the classroom that allows children to find connections with each other and with me, and that truly is the backbone of what I do.

How do you ensure your students feel safe to take risks and learn from their mistakes?
We talk a lot in my classroom about productive struggle; things might not feel easy, but it’s OK to try. If we don’t make mistakes, we aren’t going to learn. We focus a lot on what we call “growing;” really, what we’re doing is editing. … We try first, look at it, and then we make an edit. And there’s nothing wrong with not using the same strategy as other people. We talk about how we can grow from each other, and that there’s many ways to solve a problem. We want to find new ways to grow our brains and see things in different ways. That’s how we make progress. They know at this point that if they stumble or struggle, we’re going to go over it all together, and then they’re going to be able to make an edit. That’s really important for children to understand — that we can fix mistakes — and that allows them to feel safe and take risks.

What does a typical day in your classroom look like, and what makes it special for your students?
I try to make our classroom feel light and fun. We give ourselves permission to laugh and sing and dance. Every day we have a morning group time … when we play a game and do a ‘share.’ This sharing could be as simple as ‘What’s your favorite food?’ and it helps students connect with each other. Students are constantly encouraged to work in groups … so they can learn how to share their thoughts and ideas and agree and disagree respectfully.

What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve encountered throughout your career, and how have you dealt with those?
Helping students who struggle to be self-motivated or to find enjoyment with school. I really work to make it a joyful environment, but some students really do struggle, so finding ways to make school joyful for them can be a challenge. There are my own struggles, too, so I’m always seeking out professional development opportunities, working with my colleagues and making sure that I’m growing. It’s an ever-changing process.

How do you plan to leverage your recent award to support educators and students in your state? What core message would you like to convey?
My platform is literacy, and choice in literacy, helping educators build abundant classroom libraries. Children deserve to have access to many different kinds of literature and texts at their fingertips. My whole classroom is full of books, and they’re books that children want to read. I’m hoping to be offering monthly webinars for teachers starting in January on how to make these libraries happen. I also hope just to continue to promote literacy across the state throughout the year.

What advice would you give to other educators?
That you are enough. … We as teachers put a lot of pressure on ourselves to do everything perfectly, but I’ve learned over the years that perfect is not always best. I can try to be perfect and it’s never going to feel like enough. But as long as you’re doing what’s best for students, you’re doing enough. I would also remind them to enjoy it. Teaching does come with challenges, but ultimately it’s a very fun profession. — Angie Sykeny

Featured photo: Elizabeth Duclos. Courtesy photo.

In the kitchen with Jennifer Stone-Grimaldi

Jennifer Stone-Grimaldi bought Crosby’s Bakery, established in 1947 in Nashua, five years ago after working there for over a decade. She says she has PBS programming to thank for her interest in food; after the airing of children’s shows, she would be fascinated by chef Julia Child on the screen. As she got older she would turn to her mother’s magazines to look for a recipe she could make with the ingredients she had on hand.

What is your must-have kitchen item?
My must-have kitchen item is a sharp chef’s knife. Unfortunately most people don’t keep sharp knives in their kitchens. Not only does this make chopping more difficult, but often dull knives are more likely to slip and cause injury. I bring my own knife now when I’m planning on cooking in someone else’s kitchen.

What would you have for your last meal?
I would have Thanksgiving dinner cooked by my mom. She makes the best turkey and gravy and I love all the sides.

What is your favorite local eatery?
I can’t pick one favorite eatery, but my two favorites are both within a stone’s throw of each other in Milford, N.H. Riverhouse Café for breakfast and Greenleaf for dinner.

Name a celebrity you would like to see eating in your restaurant?
I wish Conan O’Brien would bring his travel show to my bakery. I would love to teach him how to make doughnuts.

What is your favorite thing on your menu?
My favorite products in the bakery are the specials we run and the new items we make. I prefer having variety. But my favorite old-school pastry that we’ve made forever and ever has to be the apple strudel. I remember I used to eat those as a special treat when I worked the afternoon shift out front many years ago.

What is the biggest food trend in New Hampshire right now?
One of the trends I’ve seen lately is having individual pastries for dessert at a wedding instead of serving a giant cake to everyone. A lot of couples are doing a smaller cake for display and cutting purposes and then giving their guests a choice of mini pastries, pies or doughnuts for dessert. It’s really fun.

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?
My favorite thing to cook at home is anything that cooks on the stove all day when the weather’s cool. It could be marinara sauce with sausage and meatballs, pot roast, Burgundy mushrooms, etc. Anything that makes the house smell amazing until dinnertime. — Mya Blanchard

House Hot Cocoa Mix
From Jennifer Stone-Grimaldi

6 ounces cocoa powder
16 ounces milk powder
12 ounces granulated sugar
2 teaspoons powdered vanilla
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1½ teaspoons salt

Whisk ingredients together and sift three times to ensure even blending. Add two to three heaping tablespoons of mix to a mug of hot water. Add a splash of light cream for a creamier drink.

Featured photo: Jennifer Stone-Grimaldi, owner of Crosby’s Bakery. Courtesy photo.

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